


The Beginning of the Beast Tamers

by WaterDragon88



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 55,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27433552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaterDragon88/pseuds/WaterDragon88
Summary: If there's one thing Niho Shimoba remembers, it's....Nothing. Not a trace of her past: no memories of her world, her family, not even her own house or bedroom. And without a dime to her name, she's flying solo in an alternate world where everything's not what it seems.In a world where magic and mayhem collide, Niho must rely on herself, having no magic whatsoever, and the people she befriends to ensure her return home. And even without magic up her sleeve, she has ways of getting even the most selfish and self-centered boys to team up and save themselves from macabre fates.But everyone has secrets. Maybe even her, and she doesn't know it.
Relationships: Jamil Viper & Original Character(s), Leona Kingscholar & Original Character(s), Malleus Draconia & Original Character(s)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 21





	1. A Stranger's Awakening

I thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.

Darkness. Nothing but black as far as the human eye could see.

Slowly, small pieces of a chamber were poking out here and there in a wide room. And in the center was a large ornate mirror, where green flames bursted inside the glass.

"Ahh...my dearly beloved. A lovely and noble flower of evil."

A lone figure slowly staggers to the mirror.

"Truly you are the most beautiful of all."

The figure kept drawing to the mirror as if entranced.

"Mirror. mirror on the wall, who is the…"

Then everything was swallowed by blackness.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The sound of hoofbeats could be heard as a lone horse pulled a carriage containing a coffin, sealed, inside towards a grand building in the distance. The iron gates were open, the skies were painted a dark purple, and the bright moon the only source of light. Casting shadows on the dark ground it burned, a breeze flowed on, swaying the barren branches of trees, and the vehicle passed under the iron arch into hallowed grounds.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The figure stood in front of the mirror, closer now.

"Those who are guided by the Dark Mirror. As long as your heart desires,take the hand that appears in the mirror."

A hand with elongated fingers materialized inside and the figure took it with no hesitation.

"For them. For me. For you. We are all running out of time. No matter what, never let go of my hand."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The sounds of rattling were heard, waking up the person inside, but all that was seen was darkness.

"What's that noise…?"

"Crap. People are coming. Gotta get a uniform while…" a high pitched voice complained somewhere. "Grrrr! The lid is too heavy. Time for my... secret move! Ffnaah~ There!"

Next thing, there were blue flames.

"F-fire?" the person squealed, trying to shield their face from getting burnt.

Something thudded and there was light peeking between the crevices of their fingers.

The room was full of floating coffins in a circularly widened room, small lanterns flickered with green light, giving off an eerie vibe to the room. And a large mirror hung up onto the wall in front.

The person looked down to see a small cat-like creature with grey fur muttering to himself. He had a scruff of white fur on his chest, pink paw pads, Blue flames on his ears, matching eyes and a pitchfork tail. Tied around his neck was a black and white striped ribbon.

"Ok, ok. Gotta get... Whaaaaaaaa! Why are you up!?" the creature jumped back, scared.

"A talking r-raccoon?!" The person's eyes jumped from the creature to the thing they were inside. "And why am I in a coffin?!"

"Just who are you calling a raccoon! I am the Great Grim! Well whatever. Hey human! Hurry and gimme those clothes!" The creature demanded.

"Are you crazy?! I'm not going to strip!" The person shouted, shielding themself from him.

"Otherwise... I'll roast ya!" To prove his point, Grim summoned a barrage of blue flames. But the person was left unfazed by his threat.

"Dreaming about getting roasted by a raccoon, that's a new one!" they snarked.

"I said I'm not a freakin' raccoon!"

But they took off before the creature could make a move.

Rooms passed by their eyes in flashes. A hallway, classroom, an outside yard and a library, which they ducked into for cover.

"Where the heck am I?" they wondered. But a semi-circle ring of blue fire stopped them in their tracks and they halted as Grim emerged from the shadows.

"Did you really think you'd get away from my nose? Dumb human! If you don't wanna get roasted, better hand over -" But a black whip shot out of nowhere and ensnared the creature. "Buwah!? Ow! What's with this cord?"

Behind the person, a man with dark green hair and pale skin appeared. He donned a white collared shirt and black tie, dark blue vest and black slacks and dress shoes. Draped over his shoulders was an extravagant coat with black feathers, and in his clawed-like hands was a large golden key acting as a walking cane. But the most questioning of the newcomer's appearance was a black bird mask that covered the top portion of his face, leaving behind two pinpoints of yellow for eyes through the mask's holes.

"This is no mere cord. It is a lash of love!" He walks forward to the small figure. "Ah, found you at last. Are you one of the new students? You shouldn't do things like that. Leaving the Gate on your own! Not only that, you have yet to tame your familiar which has broken a number of school rules."

The new person spoke up, "But he's-"

"Let me go! I'm not their freakin' familiar!" Grim shouts over them.

"Sure, Sure. The rebellious ones always say things like that. Just quiet down for a moment." the mysterious man waved away his claim and, taking the furry creature, covered Grim's mouth with a white cloth. The creature starts to shout in protest behind the rag.

"Mmmghmmmm!"

The new person got back to their feet and turned to the mysterious figure. "My goodness. It's unprecedented for a new student to leave the Gate on their own. Uuuggh... How impatient can you be? The entrance ceremony is already well under way. Let's head to the Hall of Mirrors."

"Wait. . . New student? And what do you mean by a gate?" They asked, confusion in their eyes.

"It's the room you woke up in with all of the doors. All students who wish to attend this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here. Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key but…" the mysterious guy was unsure.

The hooded figure narrowed their eyes at Grim, deducing, "The fire must have blown the lid off."

The bird man followed their gaze and caught on to what he was saying. "So in the end, the culprit appears to be this familiar. If you're going to bring it with you, you have to take responsibility and properly take care of it."

"But I didn't-" They tried to tell him the truth, but was overruled yet again.

"... Oh my! Now isn't the time to be long winded. The entrance ceremony will soon come to a close. Let's get a move on." The bird man ushered them out of the library.

"Just a second, who exactly are you?" the person backed away from him, demanding answers.

"What's this? Are you still dazed? It appears the teleportation magic has left you disoriented... " the bird figure spoke more to himself, then said, "Well, it is fine. It happens often enough. I shall give you an explanation as we make our way there. For I am gracious."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Walking in the Courtyard, the man began to speak, "Ahem. This is 'Night Raven College'. Those magicians blessed with a unique aptitude for magic gather from all over the world, here at the most prestigious magical academy in Twisted Wonderland. And I'm the principal, appointed to take care of this academy by the board chairman, Dire Crowley."

The newcomer let this information sink in slowly, and the only word that left their lips was, "Magician?" They said it like they were hallucinating, that magic and fairytales were nothing but jokes of imagination.

"Only those magicians seen as worthy by the Dark Mirror can attend this school. Chosen ones use the Gate and are summoned here from around the world. An Ebony carriage carrying a Gate should have gone to meet you as well."

The person stopped from blurting out the next thing on their mind as they strained to recall things: the forest, the sound of hoofbeats and whinnies of a horse, and the bumps on the road.

"I think I remember going through a dark forest..." They said unsurely.

"The Ebony Carriage goes to welcome new students chosen by the Dark Mirror. They are special carriages that carry the doors to the Academy. The market decided long ago that carriages are used to welcome people on special days."

That caught the person's interest. "The market? From where? And are you telling me that carriage just brought me here on it's own?!"

"Mnggmmm! Mggggggh!" Grim kept struggling against the binds.

"Come. Let's go to the entrance ceremony." Crowley pushed on.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The mirror chamber was different now. The eerie green lights were now a warm yellow and red, changing the room to a friendly atmosphere. Several students were whispering amongst themselves.

"Is that all for the new student dorm assignments?" One with wine red hair and a heart ahoge spoke up. His steely, slate gray eyes looked around the place. "Listen up, new students. Here in Heartslabyul, I am the rules. Break them and it's off with your head."

"Uuugghh...this stuffy ceremony's finally over." Another muttered with boredom. His summer green eyes were hooded out of sleepiness, a faint scar seen on his left, and dark skin with strands of chocolate hair peeking from under the hood, and tucked under were a pair of lion ears. "We're heading back to the dorm. Savanaclaw, follow me."

"To the new students, congratulations on entering this academy!" The third smiled. He opens his eyes to show off sky blue irises underneath a pair of glasses. To match his hypnotic eye color is light olive skin, and silver hair parted to the left. " Enjoy your life here to its fullest. As the dormitory leader of Octavinelle, I will support you to the best of my ability."

"By the way where did the Dean go?" Someone with a beautiful face spoke. His champagne gold/lavender ombré hair was tucked underneath his hood, a few pieces falling over his shoulders, amethyst gemmed eyes holding a questioned look, to make up for the lack of facial expression his fair-skinned face held. "He flew out right in the middle of the ceremony."

"Abandoning his post…." A shy voice muted from a floating tablet.

"Did he get a stomachache or something?" Another person questioned. His garnet eyes had a bit of confusion in them, a frown etched onto his tanned face as he adjusted the turban wrapped around his head concealing part of his pearl gray hair.

Suddenly the man in question bursted through the doors, with the second person in tow. "Not at all!"

"Ah, there he is." The red-head nods.

The person with Crowley scanned the room carefully and saw that not only were they wearing the same robes as the other students, but that said students were all guys.

"I can't believe you all! We were missing one new student, so I went to find them." He turned to the new student, "You're the only one yet to be assigned a dormitory. I shall watch over the raccoon, step in front of the Dark Mirror." He stepped to the back as Grim still squirmed and screamed vehemently in his arms.

The student did as he said, muttering to themself, "They'll have to find out sooner or later…" Once in front of the Mirror, they removed their hood to reveal light skin, bright aquatic eyes with a neutral face. And dark purple hair in a high ponytail, bangs swept to the right side of their face.

"State thy name." The spirit in the mirror commanded.

"Niho Shimoba," was the reply. Despite the long hair, no one noticed that the person's true gender was a female.

"The shape of thy soul is…." all was silent as the mirror stared at the newcomer. "I do not see it."

"Come again?" Crowley shook his head as if he heard that right.

"I sense not a spark of magic from this one. The color, the shape, all are nothing. Therefore they are not suited for no dormitory." The mirror replied.

Several murmurs swept the crowd at this revelation.

"An Ebony Carriage would absolutely never go to meet someone who can't use magic!" The headmaster spoke in disbelief. "In 100 years, there has not once been a mistake in student selection. So why in the world…?"

"Mghmgh...Pah!" Grim managed to wiggle out of the ropes and spat out the rag to speak. "Then, I'll take their place!"

"Stay right there, Raccoon!" Crowley moved forward to apprehend the creature.

"Unlike that dumb human, I can use magic. Let me in the school instead!" Grim continued with a smirk. "If you need proof, I'll show you right now!"

"Everyone, get down!" The redhead screamed. Everyone dove for cover just as-

"Hnnnnnnnnaaaaah!" A storm of blue flames started spreading around the venue. The boy with the turban wasn't so lucky.

"Waaaaaaah! Hottttt! My butt's on fire!" He screamed, starting to run around frantically with his butt burning.

"At this rate, the school will become a sea of fire!" Crowley grunted. "Someone catch that raccoon!" He demanded. But no one followed his order.

The lion man clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch, suck-ups."

"Oh?" The blonde with jeweled eyes raised an eyebrow. "Are you good at hunting? Doesn't it look like a nice, plum snack?"

"Why me? Do it yourselves."

"Mr. Crowley, leave it to me." Glasses stepped up. "I'm sure the others couldn't stomach harassing the poor creature, so I will take it upon myself."

"That's Azul for you." The voice of the tablet spoke. "Always trying to earn himself points."

"Uh, hey, Could someone put on my butt fire already?!" The turbaned guy asked as a few tried to calm the flames.

"Are you all even listening?!" Crowley looked close to having a migraine.

The lion spoke up with a groan of annoyance. "If it's just catching some stupid raccoon, can you do it yourself, Teach?"

"How many times do I have to say it, I am not a raccoon!" Grim shrieked. "The Great Grim that will become the greatest magician is me!"

Glasses, Azul, scowled lightly, "Well, it certainly has moxie. Riddle? Care to assist me?" He looked over to the redhead.

"I cannot overlook those who break the rules. Let's hurry and nab it." He nodded.

Together, the two go after the creature, who started running away from them in the ensuing chaos. Attack after attack was thrown, but like the Whack-A-Mole arcade game, the furry being ducked and weaved his way out in time before he could get hit, sending more blue flames scurrying across the room as a result. Leaping over objects, people and even climbing up on the walls, he was nimble and fast.

Grim was about to believe he was in the clear, when some student had grabbed and thrown one of the nearby chairs, at the raccoon. Grim screamed in fear and almost disappeared, but the chair collided into him, sending him crashing into the wall. He grew dizzy as he scurried to pick himself up, when two shadows looked over him. He looked up to see Azul and Riddle standing above, glaring down at him.

"Off With Your Head!" Riddle shouted.

"Ngyah!" Something snapped around the creature like a vice. When Niho looked around a few people, she saw a black and red with gold heart-shaped collar locked around his neck. "What the heck is this?!"

"Law of the Queen of Hearts number 23: 'one shall never bring a cat to a festival'." Riddle answered. "You being a cat means you've broken a rule. I shall have you leave at once."

"I'm not a cat!" Grim shrilled with anger. "I'll just burn this collar up and-" but the creature never saw his power materialized and grew confused. "E-Eh? I can't use my fire!"

Riddle smirked as he picked up the creature by the scruff of his neck. "You won't be using any magic until I remove the collar. Just like an ordinary cat.

"Wh-what?! I'm not some pet!" Grim tried to swing his paws at the redhead, but due to the distance couldn't land a punch.

"Don't worry, I'd never keep a pet like you. I'll take it off anyway when you get thrown out."

"Wow, as wonderful as ever," Azul sighed happily. "Any and all magic gets sealed by your Unique Magic. I want it...I mean, I would never want it casted on me." He corrected.

"You must do something about this! It is your familiar!" Crolwley scolded Niho. But after hearing that sentence constantly, the girl was clearly getting irked. "Properly discip-"

"HE'S... NOT... MY... FAMILIAR!" She screamed, so loud it shook the entire room.

Crowley stopped, letting her words sink it. "Eh? It's not yours?"

"Ugh, of course not! That's what I've been trying to tell you!" She fumed, annoyed that he didn't give her a chance to explain her side of the story.

"Y-you did?" but Crowley coughed to cover himself "A-Anyway, let's get it out of the school at any rate. We won't turn you into a stew. For I am gracious." He snaps his fingers. "Someone help, please."

Two students walked up to Riddle and took the creature from his grasp, dragging him away through the doors. Grim struggled against their hold, but he was no match for their size and physical strength. "Gyaaaa! Let me go! I'm going to, going to... Become the greatest magician!" And the doors were slammed shut with his decree.

All was silent amongst the room as the chaos died down for a while. The last few flames were extinguished, and everyone was calmed down from the excitement.

"I kinda feel bad for him…." Niho mumbled.

Crowley faced the crowd once again with a refined stance, "We had a bit of trouble along the way but this brings the entrance ceremony to a close. Dormitory Heads, please show the new students back to the dormitories." he turned to the ones off to the sidelines and made eye contact with all of them, but noticed something...off. "... Hm? Now that I think about it, I don't see the leader for Diasomnia, Draconia, around at all..." he mumbled.

"That's no different from usual, is it?" The lion hybrid shrugged nonchalantly.

"What? Did nobody tell him about the ceremony?" The turban guy asks, his butt now clear of any flames, but he still shifted in slight uncomfortableness.

The blonde beside him gave him a look. "If you're going to complain, you should've done it yourself."

He noticed the look given and brushed it off like nothing. "Hmmm….But I don't really know anything about that guy."

The crowd soon filled with murmurs and worried glances are shared here and there. Niho caught onto what one group was talking about.

"By Draconia... Do they mean "that" Malleus Draconia?"

"Is he seriously attending this school?"

"Scary..."

A new voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "I was correct. I thought he might come but Malleus really didn't. It seems the invitation "never arrived" again." She looks over to see someone much different than the clothes she's seen. A boy with milky palish skin, and raspberry red eyes. Diagonal cut bags of black with hints of magenta were peeking out from under the hood.

"My deepest apologies. I promise, we didn't intend to exclude you." Azul apologized.

"His aura makes it hard to approach him." Riddle added in.

"It's fine. Members of the Diasomnia Dormitory can come with me. ... I hope this doesn't upset him..."

The students filed out of the room one by one until Niho and Crowley were the only ones left in the spacious area.

"Well, Niho, I'm terribly sorry about this but.. We must have you leave the school." Crowley turned to the lone female. "Those without any talent for magic cannot be allowed to attend class here."

Niho nodded and said, "And since we're alone here and you're finally listening, you should know...I'm a girl."

Needless to say, Crolwey was a bit taken aback by her claim, not knowing what to say. "W-Well...I-I.. don't know what to say... But there is no need to worry. I shall keep this under wraps with your consent. Now, The Dark Mirror will send you directly back from whence you came. Enter the Gate, and picture your home clearly in your mind…" he pushed her towards the mirror with a gentle hand.

Niho closed her eyes, "Hooooommmmm..." She emptied her mind to picture her home. But her eyes snapped open in confusion. She thought, 'Wait a minute. Something's wrong. I remember where I live and my hometown, but I can't remember my house, my room or even my family.'

"Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide this one back to the place she belongs!" Crolwey demanded.

But all was awkwardly silent.

Crowley cleared his throat, "Once more. Oh Dark Mirror! Guide this..."

"It is nowhere..." The Mirror replied.

"Eh?"

"The place she belongs is nowhere in this world... It does not exist."

The headmaster was even more shocked. "What did you say!? That is unbelievable! Hmm, well, the unbelievable has been on parade today."

He ran a hand through his hair carefully, "This is the first time it's ever happened since I became Headmaster, what should be... Where exactly did you come from?" he asked.

"The truth is…" Niho began to explain her origins, or what she subtly remembered even if it wasn't much.

When she finished, Crolwy rubbed his chin in thought. "I've never heard of that place. I have a general grasp of where all the students came from but I've never even heard that name before. Let's go do some research in the library." He waved for her to follow him and together they headed to the library.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Minutes of searching from everything: encyclopedias to world maps, everything but not a trace of Niho's home was found.

"There really isn't anything. Not only the world map, but the name of your home isn't written in any history." Crowley gave the girl a cryptic stare. "Are you truly from where you say? You aren't lying to me by chance?"

Niho gave him a sort of offended look, "No. Why would I lie about this?"

"Looking at all this, you may have somehow been brought here from another planet... There's also the possibility you're from another world."

Her mouth dropped open at the claim. "Another world?!"

"What did you have on you when you came here? Do you have any identification, like a license for a magic car, name on a shoe... You appear to be empty-handed."

She shook her head, "No. As you can see, I'm empty-handed."

"This is concerning. I can't just let someone who can't use magic to stay at school. However, as an educator, I can't just toss a penniless teenager out on the street with no form of communication. For I am gracious."

He tapped his fingers against his cane for a solution, then found it. "Hmmmm... That's right! There is an unused building on campus. It was once used as a dormitory in the past so if you can clean it up, you should at least be able to sleep there. For the time being, I shall allow you to stay there! Then I will look for a way for you to return home. My graciousness is limitless! I am a model for all educators." He smiled, giving himself praise. "We had better be on our way. Let's head to the dormitory. It may be a bit old but there is a certain charm to it."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Niho didn't know whether to take the headmaster's words seriously or think he was just that looney. "This is your idea of charm?" she stared at the grounds and the building. The gateway was mangled and crooked, several dead trees dotted the yard and, gathering cobwebs, around the house, which by the way wasn't looking all that good either. Some of the windows were boarded up, and with just one little mishap, the place could cave in on her if she didn't watch her step inside.

Crowley was unfazed by her sarcasm, though. "Right, right. Please come inside."

However, the inside was just as much, if not more, of a traffic accident than the outside: the paintings were crooked, or removed from the wall, the wallpaper was either peeling or faded, chairs and tables were overturned, the rug was rolled up and rumpled, and dust and cobwebs were everywhere.

"Staying here will at least keep you out of the rain. I'm going back to do more research. Make yourself at home. And don't go wandering around school. Goodbye!" Crowley left without another word.

Niho stared at the place tiredly. "Look at this place...I'll need to clean it just to sit down…."

So, she got to work. She scavenged the place looking for some cleaning supplies, and somehow found them in a supply closet further down one of the halls: a broom, mop, bucket, soap, cleaning spray, towels, a feather duster, and a few more things to help her get a head start. With that, she rolled up her sleeves and began to get to work.

She grabbed the broom and began to sweep, while singing a little song.

"Seven a.m., the usual morning lineup. Start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean." The floor began to look a bit more clean after that. She ran the bucket under a somehow working faucet in the kitchen and got a decent amount of water, added soap and began to mop, clean the windows and fix the fireplace, stacking the kindling, whatever she saw and to get it down as best as possible.

"Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up. Sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15."

"And so I'll read a book Or maybe two or three." She set the tables and chairs back upright along with the couches and other chairs.

Followed by setting back the rugs, and spot cleaning any places she may have missed. "I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery. I'll play guitar and knit. And cook and basically. Just wonder when will my life begin?"

'Seems like I remember Disney movies…' she thought, nostalgia hitting her as she recalled how happy they made her when she was a child.

She wiped the sweat off her brow and took a look around the room. Still a bit more work needed to be done, but hey: it's a start. She leaned against the broom to catch her breath. But a sudden noise caught her attention, and she looked outside the partially cleaned windows to see a bit of rainfall coming in.

"Now it's raining."

"Hyii! It's really coming down!"

Niho's eyes widened, but she didn't turn a round in time as she felt water hitting her back. She let out a gasp as the cold hit her, and turned to see Grim shaking out his fur of rain water.

He started laughing at her. "Gyahaha! You've got this stupid look on your face like a spider being attacked by a water gun! I'll have no trouble sneaking back into school. Come on, come on. If you think getting thrown out is gonna make me give up on getting in, you've got another thing coming!"

She sent him a glare, "What if I called Security?" That seemed to shut the creature up instantly. "Besides that, why do you want to get into this school?"

"That's simple! I'm a genius who is destined to be a great magician! I've been waiting for the Ebony Carriage to come pick me up. But... But...Hmph! The Dark Mirror just doesn't have an eye for this. So that's why I came here on my own. Not letting me in would be a loss for the world, humans just don't get it." Grim explained. Then, he recoiled as he felt a water drop hit his head.

"Nyaa! So cold! The roof is leaking!" He tried shielding his head with his arms, but it didn't work as he felt another one. "Fgyaa! It keeps coming! My adorable ear fire is gonna go out at this rate!"

Niho looked up at the ceiling to see several holes in the roof of the place and water leaking through the cracks. "We have to find a bucket." She bit her lip in frustration.

"Magic should fix this leak up real quick. ... Oh, wait: you can't use magic! Pfft! You're useless!"

"Then help me!" she rolled her eyes at his snarky and rude comment.

"Huh? 'Help you'? No waaay! I'm just a regular monster staying in a rainy place. You better get a can of tuna ready before I do any work." Grim brushed off lazily.

"Then you're even more useless than me." She spat in his direction, narrowly avoiding a sudden raindrop from a different hole in the ceiling. "I gotta find that bucket."

She doubled up the stairs and made it to the second floor hallway, where it was in a lot of disarray like the lounge. Huge cobwebs hung from the ceilings, Several paintings and objects were strewn across the floor and dust bunnies were cooped up in corners.

Suddenly, she felt chills rack her spine. "Uh...I don't like this feeling..."

Out of nowhere, three ghosts appeared before her. She screamed.

"Heeheehee….heeheehee… We haven't had a guest in so long... I'm itching for some action. Eeheehee!" One cackled.

"Ghoooossts!" she screamed and backed up, nearly tripping over her own feet.

"What are you freaking out... Gyaaaaah! G-g-g-hooooots!" Grim, having her the shriek, went upstairs to see what the commotion was until his eyes landed on the ghosts, and now he was freaked out as her. She cured up against her legs in fright.

"The people living here got scared of us and left." The second moaned.

The third wailed 'friendly', "We've been looking for more ghost pals. How about you guys?"

"Look, I can understand if you're lonely, but killing isn't how you make pals!" Niho tried to reason with them.

"Uuu, uuuuhーー! Grim, the Great Magician, isn't scared of some ghosts! Punahhh!"

Blue fire began to engulf the hallway.

"Where are you aiming?"

"Over here, over here! Heeheehee!"

Grim grit his teeth in frustration. "Shoot! Stop disappearing!"

He started spitting more fireballs.

"Are you closing your eyes when you breathe fire?" Niho glared at the cat, who glared back.

"Shut up! Don't try to give me orders!"

Niho fumed silently, until an idea popped into her head, "I'll give you a can of tuna if you win."

Grim froze at her proposal "Wah...!?" he muttered to himself silently, "Mmmgmm, I-I'm a genius. I won't let one..." He flew back when the ghosts popped up and began to laugh at him. "I mean, a bunch of cowards ganging up on us!"

"For a limited time, I'll give you one more can!" she one-upped her offer. That seemed to satisfy him, for he turned to her and demanded.

"Hey, you! Tell me where the ghosts are!" She saw something starting to materialize behind Grim's shoulder.

"On your left!" On command, Grim whirled around and blasted a fireball at the ghost just as he fully appeared, receiving hot flames to the face.

"Hottttt!" He wailed and shrank away.

"I hit it! Alright, let's chase them all outta here!" Grim smirked and took a battle stance, Niho behind and ready to kick ass.


	2. How to run from a mess you've made

I thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.

Niho kept a sharp lookout as the ghosts continued to swarm the area, but with her fast responses and quick eyesight, Grim was able to defeat them. But when the ghosts decided to make their movements faster to trip them up, Niho wasn't swayed. A bit, but she kept her cool, and kept telling Grim where to shoot in which direction. Soon, the ghosts realized they couldn't stand a chance as they were hit repeatedly by fireballs, one after another.

"We're goners! Run away~~~!" The ghost's shrieked and disappeared before they could find themselves burnt to crisps.

"Eh….we...won?" Grim looked around unsurely.

Niho nodded with a small smile. "You actually did good."

"Hee-hee….that was sca-No! I wasn't scared at all!" Grim toughened up. "This is nothing for the Great Grim. How about that, ghosts? Had enough?" He taunted victoriously.

The sound of footsteps was heard as Niho turned to see the Headmaster climbing the staircase. "Good evening! I've graciously brought you your supper." He smiled, but then his eyes turned to Grim in shock. "You! You're the monster that ran amuck during the entrance ceremony! I threw you out of the school! What are you doing here?"

"Hmph! I exterminated the ghost problem. Be grateful!" Grim gloated.

The headmaster tilted his head in confusion. "Hm? What do you mean by that?"

Niho rolled her eyes and took charge once again. She proceeded to explain what the two encountered and mimicked them during the fight. When she was done, Crowley had a knowing look in his eyes.

"Now that you mention it, there were some prankster ghosts living here so students keep away from this dormitory. And that's why it is now empty. I'd forgotten that. However, hmmmm... For you two to work together to get rid of them…." He murmured.

"I'm not gonna overlook that "together" comment. She was just standing there watching. And I did this for a can of tuna. Ah! I haven't gotten that tuna yet!" Grim realized and pointed a paw at Niho accusingly.

But Crowley wasn't done. "I'd like the two of you to show me how you exterminated those ghosts."

"But we've already gotten rid of all the ghosts! Before that: Give. Me. Tuna!" Grim marched up to her, demanding his end of the deal, but Crowley stopped him.

"I shall be the ghost. If you beat me, I'll give you tuna cans. For I am gracious. Now then," He slipped out a clear vial of dark liquid in his hand. "Transformation Potion!" he drank the entire potion in one gulp and his form shifted into a ghost.

"Ehhhh, I don't wanna. This is a pain and I have to team up with her again..." Grim started whining.

Niho whispered, "You know, this might be a chance to get into school!"

Grim grit his teeth and spat out, "Grrr. This is the last time! You absolutely, absolutely have to give me the tuna!"

The same happened as before. Crowley challenged the two as Niho and Grim followed the same routine as before, proving their work as before.

Grim panted, "Ha...ha...How 'bout that!"

Crowley, who had shape-shifted back into his normal form, was stunned to say the least. "I can't believe...there is a person who can command monsters!" He stared at Niho in amazement, then started rambling, "Hmm... Actually, my teacher senses were telling me since the uproar during the entrance ceremony... that you have talent as an animal or wild beast trainer. But...no matter how...If I let you into this school, then maybe..." but the rest was inextinguishable since he was muttering more to himself.

Politely, she coughed out, "Could you possibly let Grim stay here with me?"

The headmaster snapped his attention to her and gaped at her. "What now? A monster?"

Grim looked at Niho in shock. "You..."

"Come on, please!" she begged.

Crowley pursed his lips, "Hah...it can't be helped. Alright."

"Hnn!? Really?!"

"However." he held up a hand to hold for order as he stared at the two a bit sternly. "I can't simply allow someone, let alone a monster, into school who wasn't selected by the Dark Mirror. Also, I can't let you be a freeloader here until you return to your own world."

"Well...talk about short-lived joy..." Grim frowned.

"Listen until the end." Crowley asked. "Concerning the fact that your soul was called here, the school has to take responsibility as the owners of the Dark Mirror. For the time being, you'll be permitted to stay in this dormitory for free. But, other necessities you will have to provide for yourself. Seeing as you have nothing to your name…" he thought for a second. "Hmhmhm, here is my proposition."

Niho looked at him skeptically. "What exactly are you going to make me do?"

"No need to fret, I'll have you do maintenance and odd jobs around campus. From what I can see, you're pretty decent at cleaning." he recalled. "Would you two like to become the 'handyman' of the school? This way you will receive special permission to remain on school grounds. You'll also be able to research going home or study whatever you desire in the library. For I am gracious. However! Only after your work is done."

Grim wasn't happy though... "Ehhh!? I'm not okay with that! I wanna wear that fancy uniform and be a student!"

Crowley pursed his lips in mock-dissatisfaction. "It's fine if you're unsatisfied. I'll simply toss you out again."

At that, the creature froze at the subtle threat of being kicked out a second time. "Fgnaa!? Okay, I get it! If I just have to do it, I'll just do it!"

"Understood, sir."

"Wonderful. Then, you two... Starting tomorrow, endeavor to be the best handyman at Night Raven College!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Niho managed to snag a room that was in an equally decrepit condition as the lounge. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, the mirror, fireplace, floor and walls and windows covered in a thick layer of dust. Wall decor was corked, the bedsheets could use some washing, but there was no other room for her to take. So, she sucked it up and made use of what was given. Aside from Pajamas, of course.

Morning arrived sooner than expected. Grim was curled up next to her as the rays of sun peeked through the grimy layer of dust on the windows.

"Heeheehee... Don't you two have to be up to clean the school?" the three ghosts appeared and began to tease the sleeping duo.

Grim mumbled sleepily, "Unnn...nyaa...five more minutes..."

"Laze about too long and you'll never wake up again." the second chimed.

The third laughed, "Just like us! Eeeheehee!"

Suddenly, Grim's eyes shot open fast as he saw the three hovering around the bed. ""Ffgya!? It's those ghosts again! Hey Niho, wake up!" he ran to her face and started shaking it to get her awake.

The girl began muttering profanities in her sleep and she rolled over, barely registering Grim's shriek as he got dragged along with her into her arms like a plushy.

After a while, she sat up and groaned sleepily, not completely awake. Her hair was down but messy. Her eyes cracked open and she saw the ghosts before her.

"Oh, it's you guys, again." She said, unfazed.

"Are you all going to be living here? You're gonna get pranked. Kekeke!" The ghost teased and they began to vanish.

"Shoot. We'll get rid of you eventually!" Grim stood up on his hind legs and shouted at them, ruffling out his fur from being grabbed all of a sudden.

A knock sounds at the door and there stood Crowley. "Good morning, you two. Did you sleep well?"

"I was sprawled out then fell out the bottom! Just how ramshackle did you let this place get? Then the ghosts woke me up, this is the worst!" Grim complained.

Niho, however, tried to keep things in order as she hauled herself out of bed. "Like a rock!"

"Even though you just got tossed from another world you can still be cheeky, wonderful!" Crowley smiled. "I came to speak to you about your work for today."

She nodded and pushed them out of the room politely as Crowley gave her a small change of clothes and a few other necessities. Once they left, she got ready. All she was given was a baggy short-sleeved black shirt, dark washed jeans, black ankle socks and white sneakers. She proceeded to wash up and brush her teeth with what was given to her. She stared into the kinda-grimy mirror and raked her fingers through her hair, brushed it out with a small hairbrush and slicked it up into its usual ponytail. Once nice and awake, she left the room and went downstairs to the lounge to meet back with Crowley.

"Today you are to clean the campus." he instructed. "...But campus is quite large. Cleaning it all without magic is impossible. So I'd like you to clean Main Street to the main gate to the library. Understood? Please watch Grim closely so he doesn't cause a scene like yesterday."

"I understand." She nodded with determination.

"I'm counting on you. You have permission to have lunch in the school cafeteria. Take care of your work enthusiastically."

Grim pouted and turned his head away stubbornly. "Che... No way I'm doing any cleaning. I wanna go to class and bang! Boom boom boom! Use a bunch of awesome spells!"

Niho stared down at Grim, unimpressed at his rebelliousness. "We could go study in the library after cleaning." She offered with a tight smile and walked out the doors, Grim following behind her, muttering about how strict she can be.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The skies were clear and blue as Niho lugged around the cart of cleaning supplies and down Main Street. Grim walked up ahead of her and stared at the statues lining the walkway.

"Uwaaah! Amazing. So this is Main Street. I didn't get a good look yesterday but what's with these statues? All seven of them look pretty scary. This granny looks especially snobby."

Niho looked up to see what he was talking about and froze in her spot. Those statues seemed oddly and strangely familiar… She thought in her head, 'These are-'

"You don't know about the Queen of Hearts?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Niho spun around to see a bright-eyed guy with terracotta-colored hair, cherry red eyes and a smirk on his lips. He donned a black and gold uniform, red vest with matching colored sneakers, and a black glove on his left hand. Painted on his left eyelid was a red heart.

"Queen of Hearts? Is she important?" Grim asked. The newcomer approached the Stout Queen's statue with a bounce in his step.

"In the past, she was the queen who lived in the Rose Maze. She was someone who valued rules and discipline above all, strict in all things from the march of the Card Soldiers to the color of rose bushes. It was a land of madness where all submit to her rule. 'Why' you ask? Because!...or else it was off with your head!"

Grim shook. "That's terrifying!"

Niho was confused, however. 'Why would they honor a tyrant like her?' she soured. She knew her Disney movies like the back of her hand and the villains were always labeled as the baddies; no one pitied them because they made bad choices and no one tried to help before it was too late. No one but her. Why would they be seen as martyrs in this world?

"It's cool! I like it. Nobody would listen to a queen who's just nice all the time, right?"

Niho decided to humor him and said with a fake appreciative tone of voice, "Well, you're not wrong."

"I suppose. A strong leader is better. By the way, who are you?" Grim asked.

"I'm Ace, a fresh-faced first year. Nice to meetcha!" Ace winked in their direction.

"I am Grim, a genius who'll become the greatest magician." Grim gloated for himself first, and then nudged his head over his shoulder to Niho. "The dimwit over here is Niho. She's my henchmen."

But he yelped in pain as she hauled him by the scruff of his neck up to her face. "I'm nobody's henchmen!" she sneered and threw him to the floor, not caring if he was an animal or raccoon or whatever. Grim bounced onto the hard pavement and rubbed his butt where he landed and glared up at the girl.

Ace gave her a weird look, "You've got an odd sounding name."

She just brushed it off and got back on track. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you! Don't listen to anything this thing says about me. He's nuts!" She directed him to not listen to the talking creature standing beside her.

"Hey, Ace. The lion over here with the scar, are they famous?" Grim moved on to Scar.

"Of course! This is the King of Beast who rules the Savanna. However, he was not born to be king, but he took the throne through effort and elaborate planning. After becoming king, he even allowed the loathed hyenas to live in his kingdom without discrimination."

This made the girl even more confused, 'What? This is different from the scarred lion I remember.'

"Oooooh. I guess he was a rock not held captive by his status! Who's the lady with octopus legs?" Ace moved towards Ursula next.

"The Sea Witch who lives in a cavern in the deep. Her purpose was to help all unfortunate merfolk. As long as you could pay the price, she could transform you, help you find love, anything. If it was within her power, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do. They say her prices were pretty high, though. That's what it costs for "anything"."

"Nyaa ha! So what you're saying is that I can get rich if I become a great magician!?"

"Clearly, you don't understand the consequences of "anything"." Niho retorted.

Grim ignored her rude remark and pranced towards Jafar's statue next. "Then, what about this man in the big hat?"

"The Sorcerer of the Sand. He was a cunning vizier to a foolish sultan and saw through a fake prince that was actually a street rat trying to deceive the princess. Then he got a magic lamp and became the most powerful sorcerer of all! With that power, they say he became sultan."

'Again: different than the real version.' she thought blandly.

"Ho hoh! So it is important for magicians to be the center of attention! Oooh! This lady sure is beautiful!"

"She is the Beautiful Queen. Everyday, she checked the "Beauty Ranking" in her Magic Mirror. And when it looked like she might fall from the number one spot, she never hesitated to do anything to get it back. I guess she had the strong will to remain the most beautiful in the world? So impressive… They say she was even adept at making poisons."

"She's pretty... but... no thanks…" Grim was shaking.

"That wouldn't win me over." Niho shook her head with a bland face.

Ace looked at them weirdly. "You think? But it's cool that she has something she'll never give up."

"S-sure, that single-minded drive is pretty cool. Over there, what's the guy on fire? Just looking gives me goosebumps."

She looked at Hades' statue next and snarked, "His hair reminds me of your ears. You could be his pet."

"He's the Lord of the Underworld! He rules a land crawling with evil spirits on his own. No doubt he is extremely skilled. Even though he's got a scary face, he did that detestable job without ever taking a vacation. And his sincerity won over Cerberus, the Hydra, even the Titans to fight for him."

Grim nodded. "Hmmm, Hmmm. So having talent doesn't mean you get to be haughty. And the last one, with the horns?"

Niho's eyes widened upon seeing the oh so familiar dark fairy of the Sleeping Beauty tale. 'Maleficent!' she thought in shock. From all the villains on the roster, she was the one Niho pitied the most. Never been invited to the christening of Aurora, it led down a spiral, involving a sleeping spell and her becoming a dragon only to die at the hands of a silver sword, with the curse lifted in the end by Aurora's prince.

"That is the Witch of Thorns from the Magic Mountains. Noble and elegant, even within the Seven, she is top class in magic and curses! She can summon lightning and storms, cover an entire country in thorns, her magic is on a whole other level. There was even a time she transformed into a huge dragon!"

"Oooh! A dragon! All monsters look up to them!"

Ace nodded. "They're all so cool... Unlike a certain raccoon."

"Fgnaah!"

Ace's smirk only grew at Grim's reaction. "Pfft... Ahaha! I can't bear it anymore! Ahahahaha! Aren't you the guys who went crazy at the entrance ceremony? You were summoned by the Dark Mirror even though you can't use magic, and you, a monster, weren't called but still trespassed. Ah...it took everything I had not to lose it at the ceremony!" he laughed.

"Wha!? You're a rude one!" Grim spat.

"And now you weren't allowed in and got relegated to be a janitor? Hahaha, how lame!" The ginger kept teasing, making Grim more angry than before.

"On top of that, you don't even know about the Great Seven. How ignorant can you be? As I recommend you go back to kindergarten before coming to Night Raven College. Pft...haha!"

If Grim was mad before, he was royally pissed now at the final rude remark.

'Ah... at this rate…' Niho was a bit worried now. She agreed, deep down, she wanted to tell this Ace guy off for being a rude dude, but she held herself as to not cause a scene. "Grim, let it go. He doesn't even know us!"

"I thought I'd just mess with you a bit, but you really blew my expectations away.

Unlike you two, I actually have classes to attend. Keep this school squeaky clean, you two." Ace saluted sarcastically and turned to walk off. But Grim wasn't one to let him off that easily.

"That jerk! He's just gonna say that and leave?! I'm ticked off!" with little effort, he summoned a wall of fire cutting off Ace's path.

Ace, in surprise, jerks back from touching the flames. "Oh my! Watch out! What're you doing!"

"It's what you get for making fun of me! I'm gonna light up that fire-head of yours!" Grims smirked.

Ace's eyes narrowed in anger to the small creature. "Fire-head, huh? Huh...you've really got guts picking a fight with me. I'll turn you into a puffy, little toy-poodle!

"Ffgna!" Grim shot a fire sphere at the Redhead. But unknowingly, Ace had a trick up his sleeve.

"Uh oh, gotta watch out. Take that!" with a flick of his pen, the bright red gem shimmered and a wind spiral dissipated the fireball into nothing.

"This guy is blowing wind all over the place! My fire is getting all twisted up!" Grim muttered and conjured a second one to throw.

The commotion caused two students to look over and see the fight going down. "What's happening? A fight?"

"Yeah! Get 'em!"

Niho, however, was too engrossed into the fight to notice them. "Wow...there's even magic to control wind."

Ace made the second one disappear and taunted, "A flimsy little fire like that won't hit me."

That made Grim more pissed than before. "What? You better get ready! Eat this!" Grim used up more power and created a larger fire ball much bigger than the first two and chucked it forward.

But Ace did the same thing as before, "And I just change the trajectory with wind like... that!" But with the slash of his gemmed pen, the fireball was aimed somewhere else….more specifically, the Queen of Hearts' statue, charring it to a black tone.

"Now look what you two have gone and done!" Niho screamed in both anger and fear at the two's recklessness.

Ace followed her line of sight and with one look at the statue, his heart stopped. "Aaaaaah! Crap! The Queen of Hearts' statue is charred!"

Grim was equally shocked at what just occurred. "It's 'cause you're blowing the fire around! Just let me fry you!"

Ace looked down at Grim and sneered, "You really think someone is just gonna let you fry them?" But one voice nearly made the three piss themselves. "Enough! Just what is going on here!"

Ace turns around to see the Headmaster, his arms crossed and scowling at them. "Guh! Headmaster!" He choked, eyes growing as big as golf balls.

Grim froze in his spot, choking out, "He's gonna tie us up with the 'lash of love'! Get outta here!" But it was too late. The lash came down on them both. HARD.

"Ooooowwww!"

"Ffgaaa! Hurts just as much the second day in a row!"

"This is my Lash of Love! It'll be another hundred years before you can outrun me! I told you just yesterday to 'not cause any trouble', didn't I? Then you go and char the statues of the Great Seven! I very much would like to see you expelled!" Crowley threatened.

Ace's eyes widen at that word. "Wait! Not that!"

Crowley turned his glare towards Niho. "And you, Niho, this is not how you supervise Grim!"

The girl hung her head in shame at her actions of not being more confrontational in stopping the fire creature. "I know, and I'm sorry…but he wouldn't stop teasing us and it got out of control." She pointed at Ace in defiance.

Crowley sighed and placed his hand over his eyes. "My goodness…" he seems close to having a headache, but regained his composure and looked over at Ace, "You, what's your grade and name?"

"Ace Trappola, first year."

"Then, Trappola, Grim, and Niho, as punishment, I order the three of you to wash 100 window around campus!" Crowley demanded.

"Nyaa!? It's all 'cause this joker was making fun of us!"

"Ehh!? Me too?"

Crowley nodded firmly. "Most definitely! After school, meet in the cafeteria. Understood?"

"Fiiiine…" Ace moaned.

Grim sighed sadly, "Nothing but misery since yesterday!"

Fed up with his whining, Niho grabbed Grim by the scruff of his neck and hauled him to her face in anger. "Stop your whining! You got yourselves into this mess, now you gotta pay the price!"

"Who died and put you in charge?!" Ace griped, making Niho glare coldly at him.

"I did. Wanna fight me for it?!" She challenged, making Ace back up in fear at her angry aura.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Before she knew it, time had gone by quickly for Niho as she dragged the cart of cleaning supplies into the now empty cafeteria. She looked around and drank in the details. It was very wide and spacious, the floors checkered in green and purple, long and wide wooden lunch tables dotted here and there in the grand room. A fireplace on one side of the room and a bulletin board on the other. The crystal chandelier gave a warm homely glow around the room as she made it to the tall windows on the side of the room. She grabbed a cleaning cloth and soaked it and wrung it out of excess water, beginning to wash the windows.

"I'm already beat from cleaning all day...now we have to wash a hundred windows, too…" Grim fell against the wall out of tiredness. Niho glared down at him and growled.

"If you're over it, just get it done." She paid no more mind to him and she continued with her work task, as Grim just sat there.

"That Ace guy is sure taking his sweet time. Who does he think he is, making me wait! I'm pissed!"

She just rolled her eyes and moved onto the next pane.

-30 minutes later-

Nothing.

-an hour and 45 minutes later-

Still nothing!

-2 hours and 15 minutes later-

Grim bursted out, "Grrrr! I don't care what happened! This is too late! Wait, he wouldn't just skip out, right?!"

Niho, finished on the 45th pane, halted at his claim and nodded stiffly. "Oh, I'd believe it alright…"

Grim leapt to his feet and charged for the doors. "I'm not gonna let him get away with putting all the punishment on us! Let's go, henchman! We're gonna catch Ace and make him do all the window washing!"

"I said I'm not your henchman!" she shouted after him and forgetting the cleaning cart, threw down her rag and ran after the creature to search for the first year.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

They busted into one of the open classrooms.

"HEY! Where's Ace! We're not gonna let you hide away! ...ah! There's nobody here!?" Grim looked around to see the room deadly quiet and empty.

"No, I'm here." someone in one of the picture frames spoke.

Grim screamed, "Gyaaa! The picture talked?!"

The portrait of an old man wearing a top hat looked at the two weirdly. "What now? It's not uncommon for paintings to talk at this school. The Wall Lady over there, the Wall Gentleman over here, everyone can speak. Portraits can speak because they have a mouth. That's normal, you know?"

Niho was a bit weirded out, but didn't let it show as she said, "Normally, paintings don't speak."

The portrait looked at her. "Your 'normal' and my 'normal' differ in regards to our quirks. Isn't that true? That aside, who are you looking for?"

"A guy named Ace. He's got a heart mark on his face and hair that sticks up." Grim explained.

The man in the picture nodded. "Ah yes, I know him. He's one of the freshmen that started today. He went back to his dorm not too long ago…"

"Whaaat? So he did try to get away! Which way did he go?"

"The entrance is behind the East Building." the portrait nodded to the direction he saw the first year scamper off to.

"Hey! We're going after him."

"Ace, you're not getting away from me that easily." Niho muttered under her breath as she led the charge.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in a semi-circular room with gateways to the seven dorms, their crests atop of the portals, Ace trudged down the hallway to his dorm's mirror. "No way am I washing a 100 windows. I'm gonna head on home…" he muttered to himself.

"Hey! You!" a high-pitched scream made him whirl around to see the girl and the raccoon running towards him, anger in their eyes.

He shouted in surprise, "Gah! You found me!"

"Did you actually think we wouldn't notice you weren't there?" Niho retorted.

"You jerk! Hold up! I won't let you be the only one to escape!" Grim snarled.

"I'm not just going to wait around for you! I'm outta here!" Ace shook his head and ran towards the mirror hall double time.

"It's not fair for only you to get out of it! I want to skip out too!" Grim shouted.

Niho was quick to snatch him up and carry him with her as she claimed,"No you won't!" She lugged the creature by his neck in the same direction as the first year.

Further ahead, another boy was about to head through the mirror to his dorm after classes were finished. He had the same uniform on as Ace except he wore dress shoes and both gloves on his hands. His fair skin made his peacock green eyes pop out more underneath the black spade symbol painting his right eye, which peeked out underneath bangs of navy blue hair. He turned to the source of noise, running feet, humming out a "...huh?" in confusion.

Ace came running in and started screaming, "Outta my way! Outta my way!"

The bluenette backed up in shock, "Eh? Wh-whoa!"

Niho ran in and screamed at him,"Hey! We need help catching him! He's trying to skip cleaning!"

The new boy heard her and starts rambling to himself, "Magic to capture someone!? S-should I freeze their legs- no. How about restrain them? Or I could...um…"

"Any way, I don't care how! Just hit him hard! Hurry!" Grim shrieked.

"Any way!? Any way… Okay! Anything is fine, so come on! Something heavy!" He flipped his pen forward and summoned the first thing he could think of.

Then from out of thin air, a giant black cauldron slams on top of Ace, knocking him to the ground. "Guhaaah! What the hell? A pot!?"

Grim started losing it. "Nyahahahaha! Check it out! Ace is as flat as a pancake under that cauldron! So lame!"

The bluenette bit his lip out of nervousness. "I didn't think I'd get a cauldron. Did I overdo it?"

"Ugh, man, that hurts…' Ace rubbed his forehead from where he ate asphalt and when he got to his feet, he glared at Niho. "You should be fine. Those 100 windows should be clean in a flash."

But the girl was fast to reiterate, "That's not something you do "in a flash!" And in case you've forgotten, I have no magic!"

The newcomer looked between the two in confusion. "Washing 100 windows as punishment...What in the world did you all do?"

Ace scoffed, "I got into it a bit with the furball and we might have charred the Queen of Hearts' statue a bit."

"More like a lot. You're lucky it's still in holding its shape." Niho spat back.

But the bluenette was too surprised to hear what the redhead did. "You damaged one of the Great Seven statues!? That's definitely something people would get angry with. You get into a prestigious school then do something like that on the first day…" he sighed in disappointment.

Ace spat out a, "...shuddup. And who are you?"

"I'm Deuce. Deuce Spade." the bluenette answered. "Would it hurt to remember your classmates' faces at least? Um…"

Ace gave him a neutral glare and blunted out, "You haven't memorized mine either."

Deuce waved away his remark. "A-anyway! If you were ordered by the headmaster, that means you take it seriously."

Ace proceeded to roll his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Understood... Then let's get it done and over with." he noticed Niho looking around and let out a confused, "Huh?"

"Grim is being oddly quiet." she said. Ace looked around wildly and saw that he'd vanished.

"Ah! That furball's gone!"

Outside, Grim pranced around in victory. "Hee hee! I leave it to you all! Bye-bye!"

Niho felt her anger slowly spiking at the furball's trickery. "Why that no good, little…"

"Dumb cat! He made me take his place! Hey! Umm...J-Juice?" Ace turned towards Deuce.

"I'm not Juice. Deuce! Deu!" he corrected.

"You're partly responsible so help us catch that furball!" Ace ignored the correct pronunciation.

Deuce's jaw dropped at his claim. "Why me?"

"This deadweight can't use magic so he doesn't count! Let's go!" Ace nudged his head in Niho's direction with spite. The girl gave him an even icier glare as she grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him down to her height.

"Deadweight?! I don't need magic to beat you or catch Grim!" she threatened. Ace felt his hands get sweaty and adrenaline spike at her threat and wrenched himself away from her out of fear.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Crap! He's darting around everywhere!" Ace groaned in frustration. The two boys and the girl had run all around the courtyard trying to catch the fiery gremlin but he kept slipping out of their grasps with his vanishing powers, making it all the more frustrating and overwhelming to stop him. Eventually, they had him cornered back in the cafeteria, but now he was prancing around on the chandelier, teasing the three mercilessly.

"Hehehe! Catch me if you can, suckers!"

"Grr...getting on the chandelier is an underhanded move!" Deuce started to try and think of a way to finally catch him. "We haven't learned the magic to fly yet.. We need to get up there, and also catch him…Maybe we could...No…" he kept muttering to himself until his eyes lit up with an idea in mind. "Ah, I've got it!"

"I've gotta think of an idea...whoa, whoa! Wait a sec!" Ace backed up at the close range of Deuce's pen pointing right at him. "Why are you pointing your magical pen at me!?"

"I'll just throw you!"

Niho sweatdroped, "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"You're joking!? Wooooahaaa!" without warning, Ace started being lifted into the air, moving around frantically like a fish on a fishing line. "Don't make me float! You're really going to throw me!? Knock it off!"

"Just catch him, ya hear?!" Deuce shouted and aimed his arm towards the chandelier "Take aim...and fire!"

"Gyaaa haaaaa!" Ace screamed as he was hurled forward.

"Ffgaah!"

Ace slammed into the chandelier, making it shatter on impact and fall into the ground in a mess, crushing Grim under his body in the process of the fall.

"The chandelier!" Niho screamed in fear and ran towards the mess, Deuce following her.

Ace sat up, hacking his lungs out. "I can't believe it!" He got off Grim to reveal the creature dazed and seeing stars.

"Ffnyaaa…"

Niho turned around and glared at Deuce, shouting, "What is wrong with you?!"

Deuce held up his hands in mock surrender. "I-I screwed up! I didn't think about the landing!"

"Are you...AN IDIOT!?" Ace yelled and stood up behind her, glaring down the bluenette in the same manner. "We caught Grim but if the Headmaster finds out we busted the chandelier…"

But speak of the devil, he appeared behind Deuce, whose eyes widened as he whirled around to face the headmaster. "If I...find out?"

Ace's anger melted away. "Ah...Headmaster...

"Just. What. Exactly. ARE YOU ALL DOING?" Crowley screamed.

"Ffnyaa...The room is spinning…"

"You weren't satisfied with just damaging the statue so you decided to destroy the chandelier!? This is the last straw. I will have all of you expelled!"

The two first years screamed in shock "Ehhhhhhh!"

Deuce started pleading, ""Please! Anything but that! I have things I have to do at this school!"

"You have nothing to blame but your own idiocy." Crowley shook his head. But Deuce was unmoved.

"I will pay for all damages if I have to!" he offered.

"This is no normal chandelier. This is a magical chandelier that uses candles that will burn for eternity. It is a masterpiece made by a legendary maester of magical tools. It has been entrusted to the school since its very foundation… Taking into consideration its historical value, it would cost no less than a billion madol. Can you pay for those damages?" Crowley reiterated.

Deuce felt his heart stop at the price. "A b-billion madol!?"

"But teacher, can't you just fix it right up with magic…?" Ace suggested, making Crowley shoot down his answer.

"Magic is not all powerful. More importantly, what we call the heart of any magical tool, the magic crystal, was shattered. No two magic crystals are the same. This chandelier will never be lit again."

"How can that…

"Crap...what am I doing...what am I going to tell mom…"

Niho was silent during the exchange between the students and the headmaster and came up with an idea. She asked Crowley, "Where exactly did the maester find the magic crystal?"

He perked up at her question and racked his head for the right response. "...that's right. There's one way. There might be one way to fix the chandelier."

The boys perked up at this.

"The magic crystal for this chandelier was mined in the Dwarf's Mine. If we have a magic crystal of the same kind as the original, repairs might be possible." Crowley answered honestly.

Deuce didn't hesitate to step up, "I will go find a magic crystal! Please, allow me to go!"

"However, I have no guarantee that there are any left in the mine. The mine has been closed for a while and it's very possible it is exhausted of crystals." Despite the bird man's doubt, the bluenette remained firm with his resolve.

"I'll do anything to get the expulsion rescinded."

Crowley sighed, "...fine. I shall give you one night. Come to me with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning or face expulsion."

"Yes! Thank you very much!" Deuce smiled relieved.

"Haaa, I suppose. Let's go get that magic crystal and be done with it." Ace sighed.

"I'll go with them. And this time, I'll do this right." Niho stepped in as well.

Crowley nodded at the three as approval. "Use the Gate in the Mirror Chamber to go directly to Dwarfs' Mine."

"Yes, sir!" Deuce saluted and took off.

Grim took this as an opportunity to finally snap out of his dizziness and look around in confusion. "Ha...What now...? What exactly did I…"

Niho hauled him up not so gently and spat right in his face, "You really messed up, and you might've been happier staying unconscious." She threw him around like a ragdoll as she and Ace followed after Deuce.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The group made it to the Mirror chamber, the room silent as a tombstone, save for them talking amongst one another.

"Ahhh...Why did it turn into something like this? Today is really not my day…" Ace sighed exasperated.

"Now isn't the time for mumbling! Let's go! Mirror, mirror on the wall! Light our way to Dwarfs' Mine!" Deuce commanded

The mirror obeyed, the surface warping like water ripples and a bright surge of light flashed. The light disappeared, and so were the others.


	3. Selfish Three!

**I** **thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.**

The portal spit them out one at a time. The three got to their feet and looked around to see dark woods, the sky an inky blue with the sun's rays long gone. A small brook with rushing water carved into the ground, a small wooden bridge their only way across, leading into a dirt path and the path led to a small cottage in the distance.

"So this is Dwarfs' Mine... It used to be prosperous, thanks to magic crystal mining but…" Deuce trailed off.

Grim curled into himself out of nervousness. "Uuuuh... Feels like something could jump out…"

"Hey, there's a house back there. Let's go ask them about the mine." Ace started walking across the bridge, as the others trail behind. Niho, somehow, had a small feeling in her gut something was off about the place….

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Deuce knocked on the door and pushed it open, "Good evening... I guess it's abandoned. It's a mess in here." He propped the door open and let the others follow in after. True to his word, the inside of the cottage was dusty and grimy after years of neglect, much like the Ramshackled Dorm.

Grim wasn't watching himself and ran into a low hanging spider web, "Pah! I got a spider web in the face... peh, peh!" he kept spitting it out of his mouth and batting his paws.

"Aren't the tables and chairs on the small side? Are they for kids?" Ace starts counting out the chairs one by one. "One, two...there's seven! So many!"

Niho gave him a sarcastic look, "You do know dwarfs are little people that are grown up, right?"

"Y-Yea, I did!" Ace covered himself despite the embarrassed look in his eyes.

"This was probably a lively home when Dwarfs' Mine flourished."

Ace shrugged at Deuce's theory. "They did what they had to. After all, magic crystals are found inside coal. For now, let's go check it out.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The group made it to the entrance of the mine which looked pretty close to caving in from an angle. But a few support beams held it together so none of the sort would happen.

Grim backed up, "W-we're gonna go in that pitch black hole!?"

"Scared? Pfft, Lame." Ace's remark wasn't taken well by Grim, who stood taller and started marching inside.

"Huh? I'm not s-scared at all! I'm taking the lead! You guys, follow me!"

They squeezed their way inside to see some light reflected in the tunnel that showed a few railroad tracks for gem carts to roll around on, and the walls barren with a few stubborn gems locked in the granite.

Deuce looked around the place until he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and halted, "Huh!? Wait!"

"What?"

"Something is there!" he pointed ahead.

At that, two ghosts wearing tattered cloaks appeared, making Grim shriek, "Eeek!" and hide behind the others.

"Heeheehee! Our first guest in ten years!"

"Make yourselves comfortable. For eternity!"

"This place is haunted with ghosts too!" Ace recoiled.

Deuce grabbed his pen, "We don't have time to deal with them one by one. Let's go!"

"Don't think you can just order me around. If you hadn't done something so idiotic, we wouldn't be in this mess." Ace fired back.

Deuce didn't hesitate to get up in his face. "You wanna talk about who started it? It's 'cause you wouldn't clean!"

"Well, it started when that furball burned the Queen of Hearts' statue!"

"Ffgna! That's what you get for making a fool outta me!" Grim jumped in.

"This blame game isn't helping!" Niho shoved the two away from one another in anger.

Deuce regained his bearings and got a hold of himself, "He's right! All of you! Do you understand our situation right now? We're all expelled if we don't get back with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning!"

Ace scoffed, "So stop patronizing me. It's really ticking me off."

"Will you just settle down you three!?"

"Won't...give...won't…"

Everyone froze in fear at the strange mangled voice.

Ace's voice quivered, "W-what's...what's that noise?"

"Stone...one...this...mine…"

"I think it's...it's getting closer…" Deuce peered down the mine, squinting to make out a shape in the obstructing darkness.

Suddenly a repulsive and hulking monster emerged from the shadows towering over the group like a giant oak tree, the head shaped like a lightbulb and filled with black water-y liquid. "Stone... IS MINE!" it screamed, the gurgling prominent.

"Monster!" without hesitation the others start running for it, away from the creature, which was following them.

"What the heck is that thing!?" Deuce screamed.

"Ffgnaaaa! Crowley didn't say anything about that! Let's get outta here!" Grim begged.

"It's so nasty! But didn't it mention a 'stone'!?" Ace recalled.

But the monster heard him and stopped, screaming at them, "Stone...won't...give...!"

Deuce gasped, "So there really are magic crystals left!"

Grim shook his head rapidly, hiding behind Ace's leg. "N-n-n-nope! Nope! I may be a genius, but I can't beat that thing!"

"But we'll be expelled without it... I'm going in!" Deuce steps forward.

Ace gaped at him. "You've gotta be kidding!?"

"It's impossible by yourself!" Niho tried to make him change his mind, but Deuce stayed stubborn with his choice.

"I won't under any circumstances be expelled!" with that claim, he rushes forward.

"Leave! Leave! Leeeeeaaaave!" The monster became enraged, and in a flash, slashed at Deuce with his pick-axe, throwing him away and slamming into the mine's wall.

"Guh!" He shouted on impact and slid to the ground.

Ace pushed up his jacket's sleeves and grunted out, "Stand back if you have no control, Mr. Serious! I'll stop it! Haa!" He swished his pen and threw a wind sphere to push the monster back, but it did little to affect it. It only made it furious. It screamed and did the same slashing punch at Ace, making him hit the wall from the blow.

"Guaah!"

"Ffgnaa! Stay away!" Grim shrilled and threw a wall of fire to block it off, making the monster let out a threatening growl.

"I-It's not working at all!" he quivered.

Suddenly, a small glimmer flashed in the corner of her eye and Niho gasped, "Did something just sparkle!?"

Ace, who saw the same glimmer, nodded in affirmation. "Behind that thing! At the end of the tunnel, there's something…"

"That light...it has to be a magic crystal!?" Deuce got up despite the pain in his back.

"Nooooooooo! Won't give!" The monster roared, shaking the walls of the mine and making Niho cover her ears at the shattering sound.

"L-l-l-let's get out of here! We're done for at this rate!" Grim started running for the entrance.

"He's right, for once! We need to escape, you guys!" she begged. The two complied to her request and picking themselves up, they ran out of the mine, only leaving the monster with its guttural screams.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Out of the mine, around the cottage and over the brook, the others made it towards the edge of the woods to gather their bearings.

"Is this far enough?" Grim heaved, out of breath.

Ace cracked his back from where he landed. "Owww...what in the world was that? No one said anything about that!"

"It didn't seem like any old ghost." Deuce shook his head.

"Let's give up and go home. I'd rather get expelled than fight that thing." Ace muttered, but Deuce heard him and shoved him away harshly.

"Wha!? Don't screw with me! I'd rather die than face expulsion! There's a magic crystal in front of us and you wanna go home?!"

Ace crossed his arms, "Ha. You talk big for someone worse at magic than me. Go alone if you want. I'm done."

But as if a switch was switched in Deuce's head, he starts raging, "Oh, is that right? Then stay right there cowering like a spineless coward!"

Both Grim and Niho were too surprised to say anything at his sudden change in behaviour.

"Huh? 'Coward'? Who exactly are you talking about?" Ace seemed to egg him on.

Grim was the only one who decided to break the tension, "U-uh...Deuce. Did you switch up your character?"

Deuce heard him and gasped, recollecting himself, "Huh? A-ahem! My bad. I lost my composure a bit."

Niho rubbed her arms out of nervousness. "Can magic help us at all?"

"Like the headmaster said earlier, magic isn't all-powerful. If you can't imagine it then it won't materialize. Large-scale or complicated magic requires a lot of training to use." Deuce shot down with a sigh.

"But that's why we have schools for magic. You have to practice a lot to use magic just as it comes to mind. Basically, you'll screw up if you lose your cool." Ace picked up.

All she did was give them a look. "Everyone has just been using it willy-nilly."

"You can use instinct for the stuff you're good at." Ace mumbles to her.

"At any rate, I'm going in there. I'll figure out how to beat that thing and come back with a magic crystal." Deuce got them back on track.

Ace spat towards him, anger resurfacing,"But...judging by the chandelier incident, you're a complete idiot. You couldn't land a single hit earlier, but now you'll "figure it out"? It's going to end the same."

Niho felt herself getting irked at their head-butting.

Deuce got close to Ace and seethed, "Come again!? You think of…"

Grim sighed, "Here they go again."

"Will the two of you just knock it off!"

The sudden screech made both the first years and the creature fly back in shock, seeing Niho's eyes wide and saying that she was done with this bullcrap.

"Waah! Why are you shouting all of the sudden?"

Niho started to spit fire at the three, "I'm shouting because you're all idiots who can't do anything but argue! Neither of you could do anything back there."

Grim felt his tail curl in at her iced over tone of voice.

"...B-but...what exactly should we do?" Deuce asked, nervous to invoke her anger again.

"We have to come up with a proper strategy."

Ace let out a dry laugh at her phrase. "Strategy? You mean get along and work together? Ha! That's cold. You have no problem saying lame things with a serious face, huh?"

Deuce couldn't help but agree. "Agreed. No way am I working with this loser."

Grim, knowing Niho will do anything to teach them a lesson, is quick to speak, "But...I feel like it's way lamer to get expelled on the first day of school."

At that, the two felt their resolves waver. "Ah...that's…"

"Tch…"

Niho smiled, "That's not cool at all."

"Ugh, Fine! We just have to get it done, right? So, what's your plan?" Ace nodded.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The two peek over the bushes to see the monster pacing back and forth in front of the mine's entrance.

"You...really think it'll go as planned? I'm sca- no. Just nervous."

Niho shrugged, not taking her eyes off the creature. "We just have to accept our fate."

With that, Grim shouted, "Hey, beasty! O-o-o-over here!" he waved his arms in the air to draw his attention.

The monster saw him and growled, "Grrr...Leeeaaaave!" and began to shuffle it's way to them.

"Gah! It's coming!"

Niho threw out, "Over here, you animal!" The monster spotted her, too.

"Grr!? There...thief...too. Won't give...mine... mine!" He slashed at the ground, leaving a strong dent in the dirt as warning.

"Gyah! That punch looks like a knockout if it lands!"

"Just get as far from the tunnel as possible!" Niho grabbed him and started running. The monster followed after her, swinging it's axe violently.

"Go away! Go away!" it kept yelling.

Once she passed by a pair of trees, Grim nodded, "It's pretty far from the tunnel now!"

"Now!" she screamed, propelling Grim forward.

"Ok, I got this! Let's go, Extra Large Tempest!" Ace yelled, creating a vortex of wind.

"And the Great Grim's Fire Special! Ffgnaaa!" A tall wall of blue flames added an extra layer to the attack, making an unbreakable barrier for the monster.

"How's this? I can even fan Grim's shoddy flame into an inferno!"

"It's not shoddy! Ugh, every word out of your mouth pisses me off!"

Niho signaled down Deuce's for one extra thing. "Now's our chance while the monster's caught in the fire tornado!"

Deuce took a deep breath in and out, "Calm down…take aim...the biggest, heaviest...thing I know…" he closed his eyes and pictured the one thing in his mind. Once he saw it, his eyes opened with determination. Come forth, cauldron!"

The same black pot as before slammed down on the monster, crushing him into the soft earth. He screamed in pain.

"Got it! Nice work, everyone! Hey, look! The monster looks as flat as a pancake just like Ace did earlier!" Grim fell on the floor laughing.

"You don't need to bring that up again! Jeez, today just isn't my day." Ace scoffed.

"Let's go get the magic crystal while that thing can't move." Deuce waved for them to follow as they bolted into the mine.

The monster looked up to see them running and flailed, "Waaaaaiit!"

Deuce made it back inside, this time, running farther down the mine and, "There! A magic crystal!" True to his word, there it was lodged into the wall, the size of a basketball. He went to reach for it.

But outside, the monster knew what they were about to do. "Hands ooooooofff!"he screamed and with all his anger, smashed the wind barrier keeping him prisoner, leaving only the blue flames to vanquish.

Niho gasped as she heard the barrier shatter and saw the monster was halfway through their magic cage. The others heard her sharp gasp.

"Crap! That thing is almost free!"

"Hey, Deuce! Throw some more stuff on it!" Grim ordered as he tried to get the gem free.

And Deuce did so. "Uhh, throw whatever!? C-come forth! Cauldron! And, um...ummm! Cauldron!? One more, cauldron!"

Before the monster could break the second wall, the same black cauldron as before lands on him, forcing him to the ground. "Nnnguuuaaah!"

Ace gave him a look, "Do you have nothing but cauldrons in your repertoire!?"

"Shut up! I'm at my wits' end here!" Deuce screamed back.

Grim managed to pry the gem from the wall, but nearly dropping it, Niho snagged it before it could shatter. "We got the magic crystal! Let's skadaddle!"

"Roger!" Niho cradled the gem in her arms as she ran after the guys out of mine and towards the portal.

The monster looked up from his place on the ground and his eyes landed on the girl last, when he saw the gem in her arms. His anger only grew from there seeing her stealing what was his. "That...is... miiiiiine!" With little effort, he threw the cauldron off of him, and got up. He swung his axe horizontally into the fire, extinguishing it, and went to chase after the group.

The others had nearly made it to the cottage when they heard the monster's scream of rage.

"You're kidding!? It knocked off all that stuff and came after us!" Ace shouted.

The monster still charged forward, his eyes, if he had any, were set on Niho. "Uhh...ugggh! Give...it... baaaack!"

"Shoot, it's gonna catch up to us!"

Niho kept the crystal closer to her out of protection. "But it's weaker! Now we might…"

"Ah! Fine! Let's finish it! Don't let me down, Mr. Serious!"

"You, too!" Both boys proceeded to grip their pens, ready to throw down.

Grim stood between them, stance firm. "I'll show off my true power!"

Deuce looked over his shoulder and nodded towards Niho. "Hide in the woods until this is done!"

She nodded silently and ran behind the nearest tree, shielding the crystal close to her body. She could hear the monster approaching them and she held her breath, fear already surging.

"Where…..where is it?!" the monster screamed. "That stone….is minnnnnnnne!"

"We're not giving it back to you, ugly!" Ace snarled.

The monster roared, making Niho curl up as tears bubbled into her eyes as the ground shook with it.

"Let's get him!" Grim shrieked.

The sound of wind slashing and fire crackling was all Niho heard and the screams of the boys as they tried to overthrow the behemoth before them.

'Please, please, please let this be a nightmare!' she prayed in her mind. Her forehead touched the glossy surface of the gem, a white-hot coldness seeping from it.

The monster dispelled the attack Ace threw at him and raised its arm, the axe preparing to strike him down, with a scream.

"Crap!" he dove out of the way just as the tip of the axe was to graze his leg. The axe lodged itself into the ground, forming cracks underneath it. The monster tried to wrench its weapon out of the ground. Only worsening it, as the crack grew, spreading forward into a long strip and towards one of the tallest trees in the woods. The one Niho was behind.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled and shook, almost like an earthquake.

Niho looked up to see the tree was being uplifted from the roots.

"Niho, get out of there!" Deuce screamed.

She obeyed and ran towards the others out of fight or flight.

"My geeeeeem!" the monster shrilled, and tried to move, only to feel something locking around his wrist. Heavy metal chains locked his wrist with the axe.

"Over our dead bodies!" Deuce stood in front of her, his pen glimmering menacingly.

Loud crackling was heard, and the monster looked up in time to see the tree he dislodged began to tilt forward. On top of him.

"Don't look!" Deuce turned around and hugged Niho close to him, shielding her eyes from the monster's quick death.

Ace and Grim ducked behind several bushes, hearing the monster's anguished screams.

The mammoth tree tipped forward and slammed down on the monster, crushing its body and silencing it's garbled voice, the glass head of it shattering into shards and ink.

Silence hung in the air as Deuce let go of Niho, Ace and Grim emerged from the bushes, fur matted and clothes battered, and they looked up to survey the damage.

Underneath the gigantic tree, The monster's body lied limply on the ground, it's head was completely destroyed, glass and inky water puddled underneath the place where its head once stood.

Niho took in the damage with morbid fascination, only to gasp in shock as she saw the ink, the glassy shards and the monster's dead body rise up in a vapory mist altogether and disappear before her eyes in a puff of smoke.

Deuce panted beside her as both Grim and Ace joined them, till on edge.

"We...did it?" Ace asked unsurely.

Grim was the only one gutsy enough to move towards the monster's death spot and see that no trace of the creature was left behind. "W-we won...we actually won!" he looked up and grinned.

"YES!"

"We did it!"

"Victory high five!"

The group celebrated, including Niho, who you could say had gotten over seeing the monster's death quite fast.

"So...Is this that 'adversity brings people together' thing?" she softly smiled as she kept her hold on the crystal.

That brought down the party mood fast as Deuce coughed into his hand, "Ah! N-no. This is nothing like that!"

"Y-yeah, yeah! Could you stop saying weird things?" Ace brushed off.

"W-we won, thanks to my genius! It's not because we pooled our strength!" but the three knew they couldn't win the argument.

"...I guess making excuses is pretty lame. I hate to admit it, but we won thanks to your plan." Ace shrugged.

Deuce nodded after, "...true. We got the magic crystal because you gave us level headed instructions. This way, we can prevent our expulsion. I am so relieved…"

Niho smiled lightly. "And I'm glad everyone is alright."

"Yeah, yeah. We're all relieved. And seriously worn out and battered. Now let's go home." Ace yawned to prove his point.

Grim began to walk towards the portal, muttering all the while. "I'm starving from using so much magic…" but then something caught his eye on the ground. "Hm? What's this?"

The three humans followed his line of sight and saw a brownish-black colored stone in the spot the monster once stood. "Remnants from that monster? A magic crystal? But I've never seen one pitch black like coal before." Deuce nibbled his lip in confusion.

Grim picked it up with his paws and sniffed it. "This thing smells really good…"

"Seriously!?"

"This has to be candy the monster was hiding! Ooooh! I can't hold back! Time to dig in!" He shoved the stone in his mouth in one bite.

Niho gaped at him in morbid surprise. "He actually ate it!?"

Grim froze as he swallowed the stone whole.

"Hey, you alright!?" Deuce started freaking out.

Oh boy...that's why you don't eat things off the ground." Ace sighed.

"De...d-d-d-delicious!" Grim squealed.

"Wha!?"

"It's full-bodied but also rich with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth… Like a whole field of flowers in my mouth!" Grim sighed.

Ace gagged, "Bleh! Monsters really do have different tastes than us."

"I guess so...but more than that… Most people wouldn't even put a mysterious object in their mouth without thinking." Deuce shook his head in disgust.

"Monsters will eat anything…" Niho followed.

"Gahahaha! Tasty, tasty! Don't worry. My stomach isn't weak like yours."

Ace spat back, "Don't come crawling to me when you get sick later."

"Switching gears, let's get this magic crystal to the headmaster!" Deuce led. The others followed him back to the portal, jumping through, keeping the crystal in their possession.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The Dark Mirror in the chamber warped and spat out the three in a huge dog pile, catching Crowley off guard when he saw the crystal in Niho's arms.

"What!? You really went to Dwarfs' Mine to find a magic crystal?" He asked them, taken aback.

The four stare up at him, confused.

He shook his head in disbelief. "I really didn't think… You'd not only go but then come back with a crystal in hand. I quietly completed the paperwork for your expulsion." he admitted.

Niho jumped to her feet and glared at him, "You seriously didn't believe we could do it?"

"Nnga! The nerve of this guy! While we were off fighting some crazy beast!"

"Beast?"

Ace answered his question. "There was a monster there! It was super gross and crazy strong! It was awful!"

But the birdman was confused. "Could you explain in more detail?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

They traversed into the headmaster's office. All there stood was a lone desk trashed with several papers. Lilac walls painted the room with stars and moons and behind the desk and hung onto the walls were pictures of the infamous Great Seven. Niho had an odd feeling wash over her just with one look at them. But she pushed it away as she and the guys explained what they had just gone through. When they finished, Crowley stayed there silent.

"Hoh hoh. A mysterious monster living in the coal mine. The four of you worked together to defeat it and bring back a magic crystal?"

Ace started acting like a tsundere. "We didn't really work together…"

"It was more like our goals were aligned…" Deuce finished.

Then, Crowley began to cry. Loud.

"What's with this guy? Why is an adult bursting into tears!?" Grim jumped back.

"In all these years that I've been headmaster… For the day to come that students from Night Raven College go hand-in-hand to face and defeat their enemy!" Crowley sniffled.

Deuce's face flushed a bright red in embarrassment. "What!? I did not hold this guy's hand!"

Ace took the phrase literally as well. "I would never do that! Gross! But headmaster...how old are you!?"

"I am overwhelmed with emotion. This incident confirms it." He looked at the girl with a smile of pride. "Niho. Without a doubt, you have talent as a beast tamer!"

"A beast tamer!?" she said the phrase like glue in her mouth.

"Students of Night Raven College are budding wizards called here by the Dark Mirror. However, they are of a superior class that makes them prideful and egotistical people that have not even the slightest inkling to work with others. Making many of them selfish and self-centred." Crowley talked to her.

"You're really not saying anything good..." Grim miffed.

Crowley merely ignored him and continued ranting, "You cannot use magic. But, maybe, precisely because you cannot use magic means that you could give instructions to wizards and get them to cooperate. Perhaps that mediocrity is exactly what this school needs right now!"

"He's not saying anything nice is he!?"

"I have no doubt that your existence is essential to the future of this academy. So says my educator-senses. Trappola, Spade. Along with rescinding your expulsion, I shall give you-" he faced Niho,"-the qualifications to attend Night Raven College as a student!"

"Wha!?" the guys screamed.

Niho was overcome by surprise, but more relaxed, "Me, as a student!? Even though I can't use magic?"

"Yes. For I am exceedingly gracious. But, there is one condition. You cannot use magic. Becoming a wizard is out of the question. You probably will not be able to complete all your lessons. That is why, Grim. You have proven to me that you possess enough talent to become a wizard. Therefore, I shall allow the two of you to enroll together, as one student." was the offer.

"Ffgna!? I...I can go to this academy too...? Not as a handyman, but as a student?"

"Yes. Provided that! You don't ever let an incident like yesterday occur again! Do we have an agreement?"

"Ffgnaa...fnnaa...We-we can." Grim looked down to see if he was dreaming or not.

Niho couldn't help but smile. "That's great!"

"Ffgnaaa! I did it!"

"Well then, I shall give the symbol of your status as a student of Night Raven College, a magic crystal, to Grim." Crolwey snapped his finger and tied around Grim's bow collar was a bright purple gem.

"Whoa! A magic crystal!?" Grim eyed the shining jewel.

"It is the norm for students to have their magic crystals in the form of a 'magic pen' but... you wouldn't be able to grip it in your paws, right? It's a special custom. Aaah... I pay attention to even the smallest details! Aren't I too gracious?" Crowley praised himself.

"I did it! I'm so cool! I got my own special magic crystal collar!" Grim did a little shimmy for a victory dance.

"He isn't listening at all…" He faced Niho next. "Do you understand? As you can see, Grim is not accustomed to human society. It's up to you to take the reins and supervise him to prevent him from causing anymore trouble!"

"Aha! Look at you. School's just started but you're already a supervisor?"

"I see. There's only the two of you in your dorm… So if you've been entrusted with supervising Grim, that makes you a supervisor."

"Pfft...isn't that unheard of? For there to be a supervisor student who is unable to use magic. Nice. It's cool. A supervisor student who is unable to use magic!"

Niho smiled at Crowley with confidence. "I'll do my best!"

"Ahaha. Good luck, Supervisor!" Ace winked.

"I see, a supervisor. I do have a work request, and having a title makes it very convenient...this is wonderful! Supervisor. I entrust you with this. This is nicknamed the "ghost camera"." With a flick of his wrist, a small camera like a polaroid dropped into her hands.

"Ghost?" she asked, inspecting the new device.

"Ah, I think my grandma told me about that. It's a super old magic tool, right?" Ace asked.

"It is not "super old"...ahem. It's true this may have been invented during your great grandmother's, or great, great grandmother's time. There is a very special spell cast on it. It not only captures the subjects' form, but also a part of their soul." Crowley explained.

"A part of their soul...?" Deuce repeated the phrase like a foreign language.

"We call this "Memory: A Fragment of Remembrance". " Crowley put it simply. "Furthermore, the most interesting part of this magic camera is that the souls of the photographer and the photographed become deeply connected and the memory in the photo comes jumping out!"

"It comes jumping out?" Niho asked with puckered lips.

"Depending on how close the subject and the photographer are, the picture could move like a video, or bring to life the situation in the photo. Fascinating, right?"

"Bring the photo to life? It's like a ghost photograph!"

"Yes. Therefore it is called a "ghost camera". They say it was made before the time of videos for when people wanted to leave behind vivid memories... Spade was correct. In the past, people would scream "ghost!" in surprise when the memory came jumping out. They were paralyzed with fear at the thought of having a photo taken with this camera."

"A camera for freaking people out…" Ace sighed, knowing there may be trouble ahead with the contraption.

Crowley patted her shoulder. "Supervisor. Please take photos of Grim and the other students to leave behind many memories of your lives in this academy."

"La-lala! Take lots of cool photos for me!" Grim was still off in his own world, making Crowley sweatdrop. But a serious look crossed his face as he stared at the girl.

"...especially, always make sure to get "Memories" when someone steps out of line. It's a most suitable way to report to me, right? Keep an eye on your surroundings and take memories as the supervisor. To generously give you a rare item that can be used by non-wizards... Does my graciousness know no bounds?"

Niho nodded after soaking in the information. "Thank you very much. Also, if this 'beast tamer' thing goes well, maybe the Dark Mirror could find others with that skill and have them enroll as students for the Ramshackle dorm. It'd be a pain to work with every single student at this school by myself." She requested.

"Don't fret, I'll add it to the list, but as of now, it is already late. Let's save the detailed conversation for tomorrow. Return to your dormitories, everyone."

But just as the guys prepared to leave, Niho stopped them. "Oh, and one more thing since we're the only ones here." She turned to Ace and Deuce, hesitation in her step and body language. But she managed to find a shard of courage and say it to them without shying away. "Considering what we've just been though, I think I can share my secret with you…I'm a girl."

Both boys went completely silent and stared flabbergasted at her.

"WHAT?! A GIRL?!" Ace shrieked. Deuce elbowed him, making him shut up.

"Sorry about him." he threw a glare at the ginger over his shoulder and gave her a sympathetic look. "But don't worry: you're secret's safe with us. Well…more me than him." Deuce didn't look over to see Ace throw him a glare. "But what are you going to do about the others?"

"Right now, everyone else seems to see me as a boy, and that might be for the best right now." she nibbled her bottom lip with some worry. She's already had enough on her plate. The last thing she'd want is for her real gender to be revealed and cause an uproar. "You need to swear to NEVER tell anyone…until the right time."

"You've my word." Deuce nodded firmly. "Right, ACE?"

"Sheesh. Don't guilt trip me! Ugh, but fine, whatever." Ace scoffed, long recovered from the blow.

"As shall I. And as your benefactor, I'll make sure nothing goes awry during your stay here." Crowley swore.

Niho nodded, relieved to know they could keep her secret under wraps.

"Pardon our intrusion." Deuce bowed and opened the door, letting Niho go first and the rest follow her out.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Out in the hallway, the three breathed a sigh of relief.

"Haaah...Expulsion rescinded...I'm beat."

"Boy, oh boy…"

Grim had a skip in his step as he walked ahead of the three tired humans, "Lalala! I start as a student of Night Raven College tomorrow! I'm gonna leave you all in the dust and take the top spot!"

Ace smirked down at him, "You talk big for someone who is only half a full student…. Anyway, it's fine."

"We're classmates tomorrow, Niho, Grim." Deuce smiled at her, which she returned.

"Once again, nice to meet you!"

"Saying that again is really embarrassing, will you stop?" Ace groaned in embarrassment.

"Pft, that's true. Even if we don't want to, we're going to see each other every day. I'm even in Heartslabyul with this jerk." Deuce nudged Ace.

Ace bantered back with, "Thinking about seeing your serious mug every day, no thanks."

"That's my line, truant Ace."

"Sure, sure. Almost expelled, crybaby Deuce. Alrighty, see you tomorrow, Supervisor." Ace gave a lazy salute as he and Deuce headed down the hall for the Hall of Mirrors.

Niho watched them leave with content. "Ah, those names…"

Grim stood by her feet, watching them as well. "Those guys might make a good combo. They're the "fight because they're so close" type. We better get back to the dorm! Tomorrow, we aren't the handyman! Finally...finally! Our bright and shiny academy life at Night Raven College begins!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

NEXT TIME…

"The roses are red. The tablecloth is white. Now...let's begin the perfect tea party."

"Here, I am the rules. The answer must always be 'yes, dorm leader'. I am, I am always, absolutely CORRECT!"


	4. Rigorous Tradition!

**I** **thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.**

The image of a mirror was seen by Niho, its glass warping like ripples on water. Bright light filled the area.

A tall hedge maze stood proud and lush. One tree in the shape of a heart, decorated with white roses stood among others. But three soldiers, paintbrushes in hand, dripping with crimson paint ran frantically around, muttering to themselves, "Hurry and paint the roses red. Hurry before the flowers wither!"

"Hurry, hurry! We have to paint them all red!" The Ace of Clubs demanded, with worry etching his voice.

"Paint…. the roses?" Niho raised an eyebrow in confusion.

A small girl appeared by the maze's archway. She had long blonde hair pushed back with a black ribbon, and wore a sky-blue dress with a crisp white apron on top. Matching tights and black mary jane shoes. Alice was her name.

"Why do you have to paint the white roses red?" she asked.

The cards looked at her as if she was talking gibberish.

The Two of Clubs was kind enough to answer, "Why you ask? The truth is we made a mistake and grew white ones."

"The Queen loves red. If she sees white, she'll have our heads!" The Ace finished, shaking in his spot.

"Really?" Alice walked around the area to see that they were telling the truth: red paint was slathered onto the white petals, and dripping onto the green grass.

"That's right. Therefore, we're painting the roses." The Three of Clubs claimed and got back to work.

The scene faded to black as Niho mumbled, "Where am I exactly?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Knock knock!

Those two thumps immediately woke Niho up. Her pajamas were rumpled as was her hair during her toss around in her sleep.

"That was a really strange dream… was I in Wonderland?" she put a hand to her head in confusion over the dream that happened.

"Mmm...hey, Niho. Sounds like we have a late night visitor." Grim, lying at the foot of her bed, mumbled in his sleep.

But two more knocks after, it woke up the Creature.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he starts griping, "What? Is it those ghosts again? They don't know when to quit."

Niho got up from the bed and fixed her hair so it was down and out of her messy ponytail. She made her way to her bedroom door and to the foyer to see who or what it was.

"Who would come over this late?" Niho muttered under her breath as she went to the front doors and opened it a crack.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow at whom she saw.

"...it's me, Ace. Let me in." He stood on the porch, shivering slightly.

She didn't since Grim peeked behind her leg and outside to see who it was for himself. "Ace? What're you doing so late…Gah! You have a collar!"

True to his word, locked sound Ace's neck was a black, red and gold heart-shaped collar. And by the look on his face, he seemed not so pleased about having it on. He started growling, "I'm never going back to Heartslabyul. Starting today, I'm joining your dorm!"

"Come again!?"

Niho was also taken back by his decree. "Get in here and explain." she waved him inside.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Out in the lounge, Niho sat on the couch as Ace took the chair.

"That's the same collar that red-haired upperclassman put on me during the entrance ceremony. Why do you have something like that on?" Grim paced around on the top of the coffee table.

Ace looked away, embarrassed, and spat out, "I ate a tart."

"Huh? A tart?" Niho shook her head as if she didn't hear him clearly.

"Yup, just that! I was hungry when I got back to the dorm, so I checked the fridge and there were tarts chilling inside. Three whole ones! So…" Ace recounted his story.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

-flashback-

In the Heartslabyul kitchen, the glass cupboards were locked up, the fine china snuggled inside, the lights shut off, and all the utensils put in their places.

Ace cracked his neck as he walked to the fridge. "Haaa...I'm exhausted on day one. And I missed out on dinner...so hungry." he opened it and scanned the shelves for anything to devour. "In the fridge we have...ah, tarts! These look good!" he held up a cake platter full of flaky and savory tarts, the red jelly gooey inside and glistened, even in the darkness. "..there's so much, nobody's gonna notice one piece missing. Thanks for the meal." He plucked the first one off the top and took a bite. His eyes widened at the taste in his mouth. "...Wow, this is amazing!"

"Of course it's delicious. Trey does not make tarts that are anything less than the best." a voice said behind him.

"There's nothing better than this! Not even those sold in...ah! Dorm leader!?" Ace whirled around to see whom the voice belonged to, only to stop in his tracks when his eyes landed on the Queen himself. In nothing but mussed up hair and silken pjs skewed.

Riddle crossed his arms, eyes narrowed into slits at the first year. "You sure have some nerve putting your hands on things that belong to me. Laws of the Queen of Hearts number 89: "One shall not eat a tart without the queen's permission." Tart theft is an unforgivable crime! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

"Gyaaa!" the collar snapped around his neck as Ace screeched in pain.

-flashback end-

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"...the end."

Grim merely stayed silent as Niho let out a sigh.

"You're both in the wrong," the racoon spoke up after a while.

Ace shot him a look. "Isn't sealing my magic for stealing a bit of tart going too far!? For a wizard, it's like having your arms and legs chained up. And there were three whole tarts! There's no way he can eat them by himself! There's got to be a limit to how narrow minded you can be!"

Niho nodded to humor him. "Mmm...sure..."

That reaction didn't suit Ace, though… "What's with that lukewarm reaction!"

Grim tapped his chin with his paw in thought. "Could they have, by chance… Three whole tarts could've been for some sort of party. Someone's birthday, or something. I'm too good at deduction!"

"Birthday?"

"That would certainly explain his anger."

"Uh... I totally thought you'd say he was being tyrannical, Niho."

The girl shrugged subtly. "You're right he was being a tyrant, but…"

Grim finished for her, "You're at fault for stealing his tart in the first place."

"Go apologize tomorrow." she ordered, staring Ace down.

"Grudges over food are the worst. Ah! Wait a second, I never got my tuna can from the headmaster!"

Ace sighed out, "Fine. Whatever. I just have to apologize, right? ...This is your idea, Niho, so you have come with me."

Niho nodded. "Got it. I'll take responsibility."

The first year stood up and arched his back in a stretch. "Where should I sleep for tonight?"

Grim looked at him. "You're seriously staying the night? All the rooms except ours are still a mess. Clean a room for yourself."

Ace stuck out his tongue. "Bleh, I am not cleaning." Then he flashed Niho a charming smile. "Niho~ Let me stay in your room. I'm slim so I won't take up a lot of space. 'Kay."

But our heroine knew better than to trust a guy whom she just met. She stood her ground and chided in a nice tone, "Now, now. You can sleep on the sofa."

Ace's suave smile fell. "Tsk, stingy. That's fine, I guess. I'll go sleep all by my lonesome on the lounge sofa. Good night!" he rolled his eyes and flopped onto the couch, curling up against himself for warmth. Niho just sighed to herself and made her way back to her room with Grim.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Niho woke up to find a neatly folded uniform on the armchair, with a pair of shoes and a hoodie, and a few supplies: pens and pencils, two notebooks and folder all tucked into a brown leather messenger bag, along with a small note from the headmaster. She proceeded to get ready for the day.

Downstairs, pounding sounded on the front door, rousing Ace from his slumber.

"Ugh… Who comes pounding on the door this early…" he blew his hair out of his face, only to find that it wasn't hair: it was actually dust bunnies. "Gah! This place is so rundown, dust comes falling down at the smallest shake!" he spit off the dust in his mouth as more knocking was heard. He scrambled for the door, "I hear you! I'm coming so stop hitting the door!"

He wrenched open the foyer's door to see his "buddy".

"So you did come here."

"Ugh. Deuce…"

The mentioned let himself in. "I heard what happened from the other residents. You got collared after you stole the dorm leader's tart... You are a complete idiot."

Ace glared at him, "Shut up! I don't wanna hear that from you! ...By the way, was he still mad?"

Deuce bit his lip as he shut the door politely. "Not really. He looked a little irritated at some guys who were late for the morning roll call but… Three people met the same fate as you."

That just made the ginger more pissed. "He hasn't calmed down at all! He's definitely pissed!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After exchanging their good mornings with one another, the two boys, Grim and Niho made their way into the school grounds. Niho had kept the black shirt from yesterday, and dressed in the grey hoodie for a bit more warmth, as well as to hide her real gender from prying eyes. She had the standard black and gold uniform on (making a mental note later to get her jeans washed after getting dirt and mud on them from last night in the forest), black combat boots, and her hair was slicked back up into the usual ponytail.

"Hey hey. Outta my way~ The Great Grim is making his way as a student at Night Raven College! Look at my collar." Grims started flashing off the grape-colored gem around his neck and made a sarcastic stink-eye at Ace. "Unlike that lame thing around your neck mine is very stylish. On top of that, you can't use your magic, correct? You'd make a really good janitor today. Nyaha, I feel good!"

Niho shot him an unimpressed look, "You just won't let that stuff from yesterday go… so pathetic."

Ace clenched his hands into fists at the torment he got from a cat no less. "Grr! I'll remember this when I get my magic back!"

Deuce held him back by his arm. "The headmaster just told us yesterday not to make another scene… Nevertheless, you're going to have problems in class with your magic sealed. Have you thought about apologizing to Dorm Leader Rosehearts and having him remove it?"

Red eyes widen at the realization. "Crap! This won't go well at all!"

"We've still got time before class and I'm curious about the other dorms. Let's go watch Ace's apology."

"This isn't a show! Screw this!" Ace spat, walking ahead of the others in a fit.

Through the Mirror Hall they went: through a large mirror-like portal. Playing cards surrounded the rim with two lances crossed at the top, Bright orange lights with red crowns lit the pocket, a storybook with its pages open stood at the bottom surrounded by small mushrooms.

In a flash, the group was outside a tall castle colored ruby red and eggshell white, with the roofs black. A marble path led towards the castle, heart-shaped rose bushes planted on the green beside it, and a small fountain laid ahead of the path and open archway.

Grim gawked at the sight. "Whoa! This is gorgeous! It couldn't be any more different from ours!"

"Ours is still in development!" Niho scoffed, as she made a note to plant flowers and new trees to spruce up her dorm.

The group walked under the archway and into a green garden. A hedge maze stood in front of them, cleanly cut and spruced up. But what was most prominent were the hundreds of trees with familiar roses popped up and around. Some were still white while others were red, their proof of color change were several paint buckets of crimson liquid, their paint fumes wafting into the open air. And who should be running around with one paint can and a brush than another guy. He was taller than Deuce and Ace, but he had orange toned hair reaching his jawline, and the top portion tied back into a short ponytail, revealing leaf-green eyes, and a small diamond-shaped mark under his right eye. Like the boys, he had the school uniform on, except he was lacking the vest and had white keds for shoes.

He was muttering to himself, "Crap, crap. I've gotta get these roses painted."

"Oh, somebody is here." Grim walked forward.

"Oh, watch out. Any paint splatters and my head is gone." the new guy whispered as he ran from one rose tree to the other.

'I feel like I've seen this before… oh, right. From Alice in Wonderland.' Niho thought in her head, watching him carefully.

As if he sensed their presences for the first time, the guy turns to see the group. "...Hm? Did you all need something?"

Ace pointed to what the newcomer was doing. "What are you doing with all that?"

The carrot-head guy followed what he was saying and answered, "This? As you can see, I'm painting the roses red."

Deuce gasped, "Eh? Why would you?

But the new guy walked closer to the two and inspected them carefully as a smile lit up his face. "Hmm, your fresh reaction is so cute! Now that I take a good look at you, you're the freshmen busted the 10,000,000 madol chandelier yesterday."

Ace dragge his hand down his face in anger. "We're gonna hear about the chandelier until the day we graduate…"

But the guy's gaze lingered on Ace more. "And you're the one who added on more punishment by stealing the dorm leader's tart last night! I feel so lucky getting to meet the notorious newcomers first thing in the morning. Hey, hey, hey let's take a selfie! Yay!" Before any of them could process what was going on, the guy whipped out his phone and snapped a picture fast as lightning. "Can I put this on Magicam? Tell me your names so I can put you in tags."

"I'm Deuce Spade."

"Ace."

"Grim and my henchman!"

"I'm not his henchman. My name is Niho Shimoba."

A few taps at his keys and he was done. "Alright, upload finished! Ah, I'm your senior, third year Cater Diamond. Call me Cater. Cay is fine, too. Nice to meetcha~"

Niho was the first to greet him back out of politeness. "Nice to meet you, too."

Cater's eyes widened after seeing her. "Ah, you're the supervisor for Ramshackle Dorm I heard about. Good on you, living in a place like that! It's super dark, and you can't get a good Magicam in there. You have my sympathy." He gave her a pat on the back.

Grim muttered, "This guy is really running his mouth."

"It's a work in progress. If you hate it so much, maybe you can help me make it better." Niho glared at the third year.

"Ah, I don't have any time for small talk! The party is in two days. I don't wanna lose my head for being late. Hey, you guys, will you help me with painting the roses?"

"But why are you doing something so weird?" Ace still pushed.

"Red roses at a party are the most photogenic! I guess? I've also got to change the flamingos' colors for the croquet match… So I'm busy with all this work." Cater brushed off and pulled the others to his work area.

"You're changing the flamingos' colors?! Your chores are so weird." Grim mumbled again.

"So the tart that Ace ate was going to be used for the dorm leader's birthday party. That's why he was so mad…"

"Nope. That's not it."

"It's not?! Then who's birthday is it?"

"It's not anyone's birthday. The day after tomorrow is our dorm's traditional "Unbirthday Party". The dorm leader chooses a random day that isn't anyone's birthday and we have a tea party." Cater finally answered.

But that just made Ace all the more confused. "The heck is that!?"

Niho summarized, "It's basically this: every person born has one day: their birthday. That leaves Three Hundred Sixty Four unbirthdays, or the day's that are NOT their birthday, and every day is a party and you get presents and cake."

Cater seemed impressed by her knowledge, but was still frantic over the workload dumped on him. "Later, worry about the reason later! All you have to do now is to make the roses red! Deuce, Grim, you two can do it with magic. Ace, Niho, since you can't use magic, here's some paint." he handed them cleaned brushes and full paint cans of red paint.

"We can change the color with magic…" Deuce looked at his pen.

"I've never done anything like that."

"Okay, it's fine, just relax! We'll figure it out! We better hurry if we don't wanna lose our heads to the dorm leader~"

Cater pushed two per tree. Ace and Niho at one, and he led Grim and Deuce to one a little aways from them.

"Alright, let's hurry and paint the roses red! Not pink, not green, got it? I'm countin' on you to paint it a pretty red!"

"Geez, guess we can't say no… We just have to get this over with, right?" Ace sighed and started working, Niho following him.

Deuce was still a worrywart. "I don't know if we can give satisfactory results, but I will do my best!"

"Somethin' like this is easy for someone like me! You do your best, too, got it!" Grim chortled.

Niho mutters, "You do too, furbrain."

After several minutes, Deuce stumbled a bit at the start, but then he seemed to get the hang of it halfway through. "It looks like it's going well."

"Alright, I'll end this all in one move! Wha–!?" Grim thought he had it under control, but ended up splattering the wrong color.

Cater took over and with one swish of his pen, the last of the roses, including Grim's mistake were cherry red. "This is how it's done, watch!"

Niho, who had watched from afar smiled slightly. "Color me impressed…."

"Th-third years are amazing…!" Ace gaped, nearly dropping his tools in the process.

"Alrighty, let's try again."

Later on, Ace and Niho were just about finishing their tree. Grim, who had learnt from his mistakes finally made a few roses the perfect red color. "Behold! I made them all red this time!"

"Me, too." Deuce showed off his work.

Cater gave a lil clap. "Amazing! Just a little more practice and it'll be perfect! It will be better if you imagine a red rose while you're casting your magic."

"I see. Red roses, red roses…" Deuce cracked his neck.

Ace sighed with jealousy, "I wanna do magic, too!"

"Red, red… There! Gah! It turned blue!"

"Change color… Take that! Gyaaa! The roses are on fire!"

"You guys are really more terrible at this than I could've imagined." Cater chuckled.

"Aren't the roses fine being white? They're pretty." Ace intervened.

"This is our tradition. Roses are red for the Unbirthday Party. And we use flamingos in seven different colors for croquet with hedgehogs as the balls. But, y'know, the spring garden concert of the flowers uses white roses. That's an important point, too."

"Those are all strange rules!"

Cater turned to Grim, "They say these rules were all decided by the Queen of Hearts from the Great Seven. Riddle is particularly passionate about following the rules even compared to other strict dorm leaders. I won't deny he goes too far sometimes, though…"

Ace remembered why he was here in the first place. "That's right. I don't have time for this. I want to speak to the dorm leader, is he inside?" he dropped his things.

"Hm? I think there's still time before he leaves… By the way, Ace the tart thief, did you bring a tart of apology?"

Ace stopped before he could walk inside. "Ah? No, I came first thing so I'm empty handed…"

Cater's smile widened. "Ooh noo. Is that so? Since you're going against Laws of the Queen of Hearts, Number 53: "One must always return what they stole". I can't let you in the dorm."

Ace spun around to look at him. "Huh? And why the hell is that!?"

"I'll lose my head too if I knowingly let you in while you're not obeying the rules. Hehe, I feel bad but you need to leave before Riddle notices."

"Woah, his face got serious! Guys, help me out!" Ace begged.

"Why would I?" Deuce scoffed.

"Please! I can't use magic right now… Ah! Here he comes!"

Niho watched silently the battle that went down, and she didn't know if it was a trick of the light but she thought she saw more than one copy of Cater appear here and there. It went by her eyes too fast for her to see that the guys lost and were dragged out.

"Now, go get a tart and then try again! Bye-bye!" Cater saluted and left.

Ace stood up in a huff. "What's his problem!"

"No matter how many times we took him down he kept coming back... I wonder if he was using illusion magic?"

"On top of that, we get turned away at the gate without a tart? We didn't have anything to begin with. He just wanted us to paint the damn roses!"

"He's a shrewd one." Grim nodded.

"Then we just have to bring a tart and try again. We can go after… Ah! Crap!" Deuce froze.

"What's wrong?" Niho asked.

"This is bad, the warning bell already rang! We're gonna be late!" Deuce wavered and ran back to the portal, dragging Niho behind him.

"Ffgna! My shining school life is going to be tarnished on day one! Let's get a move on!"

"What class are you two in? You're first years, right?" Ace asked as they approached the portal.

"The headmaster told us 1-A!"

"Wow, we're in the same class. First period is Potions." Deuce recalled his schedule by heart.

"Woah! Sounds like fun!"

"I can't use magic so I wonder how this'll go…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

FIRST PERIOD: Potions

The first class of the day. In a science room, shelves lined full of beakers. Vials and jars filled with strange liquids and herbs and objects galore. Niho had on a long white lab coat over her uniform, black gloves and black-rimmed safety goggles on.

The Alchemy teacher, a young man who seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties walks in. His hair dyed back on the right, white on the left, and he wore a fur coat and vest in the same scheme but inverted. Black dress pants and shoes, light skinned with silvery-blue eyes, which slammed the room. He dotted his name down on the chalkboard, which read, "Prof. Divus Crewel."

"So you all are the fresh faces in my homeroom. Hmmm, there are some rare hair colors in the bunch. Not bad. Make sure to take proper care of it daily. My name is Divus Crewel... You may feel free to call me Master Crewel. Take your seats. Class will begin… First for the basics. I will beat the names and appearances of 100 types of medicine and poison into your little brains. We'll cover fungi later. Now memorize these so you don't go around getting poisoned by random things you eat off the ground. Dogs will eat whatever is lying around. Your training will be strict and I better not see any red marks on your tests."

Ace and Deuce took the lab table by Niho's. "I see. By the way, what's a "fungi"?" Deuce asked.

Niho answered for him. "They're spore-producing organisms that feed on organic matter. One of them is mushrooms."

"Correct, Shimoba!" Crewel praised with a small smile.

"Blegh. I'm no good at memorization." Ace gagged.

"All that matters for grass is whether or not it tastes good." Grim answered.

Niho flipped through the book carefully, scanning its contents and writing down what she needed. Even though she couldn't use magic, she could at least make a decent potion.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Out of their lab gear, next was history. This teacher was different from the last. He seemed to be in his 50s or 60s. Gray hair with silvery highlights and evergreen eyes sternly look on at the class, scowling and making the wrinkles on his face pop out more. He wears maroon colored robes, white gloves and a matching cravat with a green brooch in the center to pin, and dress shoes.

"I am Trein, and I'm in charge of your history lessons. This is my familiar, Lucius. You will learn about the history of magic that has brought prosperity to the world."

"Mreow~~~~~" Lucius, a black with white tipped fur on his chest responded.

"Participation in class will affect your grade, not just reports. I will not forgive sleeping in class. Open your textbooks to page 15. We will start with the discovery of magic crystals in the Dwarfs' Mine."

"Mreow~~~~"

"Magical energy spread throughout the world during the century after this discovery, we call it "Beginning of Magic"."

"Mreow~~~ Grh…"

Ace let out a yawn, feeling his eyes shut, but Deuce was invigorated in the subject. "Woah~ At Dwarfs' Mine… Woah~ Magical energy…"

"Hmm. I want a class to use Magic like BANG!" Grim muttered, but Niho was reading on as well, carefully listening in on Trein's lecture.

'Their history is interesting.' she thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Third class was PE. Niho's gear were black leggings, purple sneakers and a gray shirt. And the third teacher was way different than the last two. With dark bronze hair and cobalt blue eyes. Huge muscles ripped underneath a tracksuit of gold and red with red running shoes.

"I'm Vargas. I'm in charge of athletics for you bean sprouts. Becoming a great wizard starts with your muscles! Look at all the muscle I've built eating raw eggs everyday! You baby wizards have no stamina. Start with 20 laps around the track, then 100 push-ups!" He blew his whistle.

"Eh… I don't dislike exercise, but I can't deal with this type of teacher." Ace huffed as he ran alongside the others.

"It's true that pride in just muscles is annoying. That doesn't win over a girl, unless they're airheads and are blind to see what the guy truly is." Niho scoffed.

"I've got confidence in my stamina." Deuce offered.

"What's so fun about running in circles!? I'm not a freaking hamster!" Grim complained.

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Niho threw over her shoulder and ran ahead of them.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The small break arrived soon after.

"Our next class is…" Deuce looked over the schedule in his hand.

"For a school of magic, it's really not that different from regular old school. It's a lot more subdued than I expected… Not having Magic hasn't been a problem at all." Ace nodded. "How about you, Grim? ...Hm?"

Niho looked around but saw no sign of him. "Huh? Grim?"

"Look out the window! That furball is making a beeline for the courtyard…" Deuce looked out the window, pointing at a figure. The other two look out and see that true to his word, Grim was running towards the courtyard like his life depended on it.

"I'm not sitting through boring classes all day! As a genius, I don't need any classes to teach me to use magic with a bang!" Grim complained.

"Skipping class on the first day!? That big baby!" Niho kicked the wall in anger.

"Making a break for it already. He never learns…" Deuce shook his head.

"Pft, your first day as supervisor and you already have to report that you lost track of him." Ace took a moment to laugh, ignoring her simmering glare. "So, do you want help catching Grim?"

"Please!" she answered. But Ace wasn't done.

"Buy me a chocolate croissant." he said with a smirk.

"I'll help you for an iced latte from the cafeteria." Deuce joined in the teasing.

Niho wanted to clobber both of them so badly. "Grr…"

"You better watch out. Grim's getting away! You okay with that?"

She let out a groan, "Fine, it's a deal!"

"It's a deal! Now then, Deuce, shall we clean up after our pathetic, little supervisor?"

"Sure thing, Ace. I'm looking forward to lunch."

Their victory was short lived when Niho got up in their faces, a deadly look in her eyes. "I'll show you who's pathetic. Grim, you're gonna PAY!" She ran off, not waiting for the others.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

They had made it outside to see Grim sitting down on the concrete to catch his breath.

"Grim, taking those lessons is for your sake, y'know?" the creature leapt up and turned to see the three standing feet aways.

"Wha–!? Why're you the one taking me back?!"

"We are doing this for the sake of our lunch!" Deuce answered.

"I don't get it! I'm never going back to a boring class like that!"

Niho cracked her knuckles, ending him with a deadly look, "Oh, yes you are…"

They tried all they could to corner the creature, but just like the day before, Grim kept popping up in different places, making it more difficult to catch him. However, a few spells thrown had made him pretty tuckered out.

"Have you finally come back to your senses now?"

Grim panted out with a frown, "I said….I don't wanna~~~~!" he shot a fireball at them for emphasis.

Ace flew to the ground, covering his head as the fireball sailed over him. "Whoa, close call!"

"I'm sure I already said this before, but what an absurd personality…!"

After several more minutes of chasing him, they finally had him cornered. "Got ya!"

"Come forth, cauldron!"

However, to Grim's surprise, Niho leapt from the cauldron into the air and sucker-punched the cat in his face.

"GAH!" he skidded across the ground, seeing stars from the attack. But once he regained sight, the only thing he saw was a foot on top of him, Niho shooting deadly lasers from her eyes.

"Alright~! Our lunch is secured now~!" the two shared a high five with one another.

"Now, Grim. Behave and go back to class."

"No way, No way! No way I'm going back to those boring classes!" Grim was stubborn as he tried to break free from Niho's iron grip on him.

"Then you won't become a great wizard." she spat at him.

"Dammit! You're being extra strict today!"

Niho's aura became increasingly menacing. "Damn right, I am! Because of you, I have to pay lunch for Ace and Deuce. And for that, you have to pay me ten times the amount! And until you do, you won't get any tuna cans."

Grim shook at her aura and stayed obediently silent, not to invoke her hidden rage.

Ace and Deuce whisper to themselves as they follow behind her to their next destination.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The group made it to the cafeteria.

"It's finally lunch time! Wow! Everything looks so good here!"

"Pretty amazing that they have a buffet." Niho nodded approvingly.

"Fluffy omurice! Grilled chicken and bacon egg tarts!"

Ace covered his ears at the shrieking by him. "You're too loud! You're only this excited during lunch…"

Grim immediately started popping up all over, grabbing certain things he deemed edible. "Hey, hey! I want some grilled chicken! It's the last one! And omurice, too! Bread with jelly, too! Just take a bunch of everything! Ah!" But then he crashed into someone, who was sliding their tray forward, only to get jolted suddenly and nearly mess up their food.

"Huh!? Watch it! 'Cause of you the egg in my pasta broke." the guy turned around and snapped at Grim.

"Woah, woah, woah~ Breaking the gooey egg is the best part of eating carbonara. How do you plan to pay for this?" his friend sneered.

"Hand over that grilled chicken as consolation and we'll call it even." the first guy smirked. Grim stood protectively in front of his food.

"Ffgna!? Hell no! This is my chicken!"

"Ah? Not showing your senior respect as freshmen? Come around back!" the second guy spat.

"Ah! Settling personal squabbles with magic is prohibited…" Deuce reminded. But the two paid him no mind.

"Squabble? This is just seniors teaching their juniors proper behavior!"

"Grit your teeth!"

However, the two were no match for Grim and Niho, fire based spells and a few rough and tumble strikes here and there made them back down.

"You're better than expected…"

"My pasta's getting soggy so I'll let you off easy!" with that, they walked away.

"Hmph! Those guys were all talk! And never come back!" Grim taunted.

"They're the ones who had a problem…" Niho grumbled and left to get food for herself, as well as for Ace and Deuce.

"Whatever, let's just eat. After missing breakfast, I'm so hungry I'm gonna pass out…" Ace fanned himself.

"We really have no luck. There are so many people trying to get into this prestigious school but they let in guys like that…" Deuce sighed.

Niho came back and resisted dumping the croissant and coffee onto both of them, but refrained from more trouble. She placed them beside them and took her spot at the table.

"Back to the task at hand! Let's eat!" Grim started bulldozing through his food. "On nom nom! Delicious! The egg around the omurice is light, fluffy, and the center is filled with gooey cheese! Om nom nom!"

Niho focused on her calzone in front of her. The smell of melted mozzarella filled her nose as she cut into it, met with a warm wave to her face and the pungent smell of spinach, olives and pepperoni blended perfectly together. She took a bite and the flavors melted on her tongue in an instant: spicy pepperoni, softened spinach and olives and stretchy cheese all incorporated on her taste buds. She sighed through her nose and smiled with content.

"So we saw your guys' dorm this morning, but what are the other dorms like?" Grim spoke up from his food, chunks flying from his mouth onto the wood surface.

"You know about the Great Seven statues displayed on Main Street, right? There's seven of them so there are seven dorms." Cater appeared with another guy beside him. He was a bit taller than him, except he had ivy green short hair, mustard-colored eyes and a small black clover symbol painted under his left eye. And had the standard uniform on him with brown loafers.

"Gah! You're the guy from this morning!"

"You tricked us into painting those roses for you!" Ace and Grim glared at Cater.

"Saying I tricked you is so mean. I wasn't doing it because I wanted to. It's just how things are done in our dorm." Cater corrected.

"You were grinning all the while…" Deuce muttered.

"Now, now, Little Deuce... Those rules are only for inside the dorm, so now I'm your kind upperclassman." Cater winked.

"D-drop the "little"!" the bluenette stuttered.

"That's just how Cater shows affection." the green haired guy laughed all the while.

"Who's that guy next to you?"

"Oh, my bad. I'm Trey. Trey Clover. I'm a third year in Heartslabyul like Cater." he introduced himself and turned to Niho. "And you're the freshmen put in charge of that ramsh-" he coughed to cover himself. "...unused dorm, right? I heard from Cater. Sorry about all the trouble these guys from our dorm caused you."

"Believe me: I've dealt with dunderheads like these before and they're the worst of the bunch." she rolled her eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sitting right here…" Ace scoffed at her backhanded remark.

"We should put that aside and make up. We're in the same dorm after all. Let's all exchange numbers!" Cater sat between the two first years with enthusiasm.

"But I don't have a phone." Niho pointed out.

"You don't have a phone!? That's crazy! You're like an endangered species. I know a place to get the newest models for cheap~ How about we go on a date to choose one?" Cater smiled cooly and placed his hand over hers in a suave manner, sending her a wink.

Niho slowly cept her hand away from his, freaking out a bit on the inside. 'Does he know I'm a girl?' she shared a look of worry between Ace and Deuce, who couldn't help but share their concern with her.

"Cater. Look at this freshman. Hold back a bit." Trey stepped in to calm her down and make Cater back off.

Cater caught on and held his hands up in mock-surrender. "Ahaha, sorry sorry! We were talking about the dorms? Sounds good, a fresh convo! We'll tell you anything you wanna know."

"First I want you to tell us about our own dorm. The hell is up with those crazy "Laws of the Queen of Hearts"?" Ace started.

"You know all about the legend of the Queen of Hearts, right? She created a wonderland of madness built on strict adherence to her rules." Trey sat next to Niho.

"Out of respect for the Queen of Hearts, those of us in Heartslabyul traditionally wear red and black arm bands, just like her dress... and uphold the laws that she made." Cater turned to the side to show off the striped ribbon and crest with it.

"Sounds like a stiff place!"

Niho didn't say anything, but continued to eat and listen simultaneously.

"How strict we follow the rules depends on the dorm leader." Cater scoffed at the next part. "Last year's was pretty chill about it."

"Riddle is the most serious of all dorm leaders. So he follows the rules to the max." Trey added.

Ace gagged, "Bleh. What a pain…"

Grim was invested in the topic. "What are the other dorms like?"


	5. Mont Blanc Quest

**I** **thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.**

Grim was invested in the topic. "What are the other dorms like?"

Trey began to explain "Like Cater just said, there are seven dorms each emulating one of the Great Seven. Our dorm, Heartslabyul, is founded on the strict spirit of the Queen of Hearts. Next is Savanaclaw, the dorm founded on the fortitude of the King of Beasts. Octavinelle, the dorm founded on the benevolence of the Sea Witch. Scarabia, the dorm founded on the deliberation of the Sorcerer of the Sand. Pomefiore, the dorm founded on the strenuous efforts of the Beautiful Queen. Ignihyde, the dorm founded on the diligence of the King of the Underworld. And Diasomnia, the dorm founded on the elegance of the Witch of Thorns."

Niho fiddled with her utensils nervously. "There are so many."

"Their names are too long! No way I'm gonna remember all of that!" Grim pouted.

"Ahaha! Just get the rough idea. You'll remember them eventually." Cater laughed.

"Which dorm you enter is based on the judgement of the Dark Mirror when it looks at your soul during the entrance ceremony... So each dorm has their own quirks about them." Trey went in-depth.

"You're right about that. I totally see it."

"What… quirks?" Deuce asked.

"For example... Look, over there." Trey pointed nearby at another table to someone tall and with-

"He's got dog ears!?" Niho gasped.

"That rugged look definitely means Savanaclaw." Trey pointed out.

"Totally! That dorm has a lot of people good at sports and martial arts. They're the buff and gruff big bro types? Savanaclaw wears yellow and black armbands." Cater puts out.

"Ohh. Then what about that guy with the gray and lavender thing on his arm?" Grim motioned to someone further back.

Trey followed him and answered, "He's from Octavinelle. At the table in front of us, the guys with the dark red and yellow are from Scarabia." He pointed over to two figures side by side one another.

"They say both of them are really smart. Those two dorms are in a dead heat during written tests. Though, the Scarabia dorm leader isn't that great at studying." Cater shrugged.

"We're getting completely derailed." Ace reminded.

"You sure adapt quickly. Back to what we were saying, over there, practically sparkling, are members of Pomefiore. They have a purple and red armband." Trey points over further and true to his word, there seemed to be sparkles no matter which angle they turned.

"Whoa! There's a super cute girl over there!" Grim gaped at the smaller body amongst the taller ones.

"Wha?! At a boys school?!" Deuce looked confused. Ace hit him on the arm.

"Idiot. This is a boys only school, there's no way that's a girl."

"Huh?!"

Niho gave both Ace and Deuce a look.

The smaller boy looked around at their table, hearing the confusion going on, but was pulled back into the conversation and didn't think much else.

"If you wanna see girls, the portrait in the west building, Rosalia is pretty high level. I don't mind introducing you if you're interested. Should I set up a blind date?" Cater smiled playfully.

Ace waved his hands in front of him for a 'nope'. "I'm good! No matter how cute Rosalia is, she's just a painting."

"Anything goes if you're good looking. Pomefiore always scores high for looks and their beauty regimen is second to none. Their dorm leader is a Magicam-grammer with over 5,000,000 followers." Cater squealed, and Niho could almost see hearts floating in his eyes.

"Hey now. Don't focus entirely on their looks. Pomefiore has many members skilled at making potions and curses." Trey intervened, making Cater snap out of his fantasy. Or whatever he was thinking...

"Ahaha, is that so? Next would be Ignihyde but…" the ginger scanned the place. "I don't see any of them around, they've got blue and black arm bands. Everyone in that dorm has their guard up at all times, not even I have any friends. They're the exact opposite of the extroverts in Heartslabyul."

"So They're all dull?"

"Hey! Word choice!" Trey scolds the cat. "Though they do have a very quiet image. Many of them are good at building equipment that use magic energy or digital things."

'So they're into sci-fi or something.' Niho thought to herself. They seemed interesting enough.

"Only the… Diablahblah dorm is left."

Ace glared at Deuce. "You can't fool me with that straight face. It's Diasomnia."

"I bit my tongue, okay!" Deuce blushed a bit, embarrassed.

"Diasomnia is...there. They're all shoved into that booth in the back." Cater pointed to the Far Right of the cafeteria. "Their symbol is their green and black armband. They're kind of like celebrities around here. They've all got this aura that makes it hard for us regulars to approach them. The dorm leader has MAX 'don't come near me' vibes…"

They all look over. Ace's interest was on the smaller figure between two others. ""Huh? There's a kid with them."

"You can skip grades and still enter this school." Trey looks at Ace. "But he isn't a kid. He's a third year like…"

"Lilia. Lilia Vanrouge." a voice perked up, catching both Ace and Trey off guard and surprising Niho.

Grim nearly fainted on the spot. "H-he just teleported right over here!"

The newcomer, Lilia, flipped rightside up, letting Niho get a better look at him. He was short, had black hair with magenta highlights and very pale skin with raspberry red eyes. Her eyes widened a fraction. She remembered him from the mirror chamber, two days ago! But he had on the standard uniform, except he had a gauzy white dress shirt underneath a bright green vest, the jacket was draped over his shoulders like a cape, the tie was knotted into a bow, black gloves, and for shoes, they looked like something worn in Old England times, like Louis VIII or so…..

"Are you all curious about my age? Kufufu." he snapped her from her thoughts as he chuckled in amusement, it sounded. "I have this baby-faced visage but like glasses said, I'm not at an age one would call me a child."

"Baby-faced…" Trey was at a loss for words, still in shock over the trick pulled.

"There's no need to look on from afar, just come up and speak with us. Are we all not students of the same academy? We at Diasomnia will always welcome you with open arms." Lilia grinned.

Niho looked over to see the two taller bodies from before, and that they were wearing grim/angered expressions. "Forgive me, but I don't think they agree with you." she disagreed, making the smaller male look in her direction. He walked over to her and peered down at her.

"Oho! If it isn't the new student? Niho, is it?" after she nodded to reaffirm, his smile grew wider, if that was possible. "I must say, the uniform is quite befitting for someone who doesn't harbor magic. Welcome to our Academy! I hope you make yourself quite at home," he sent her a closed eye smile. Niho didn't know whether to take his words with a light heart or tell it off as sarcasm. But she just nodded with a confused expression.

"Those guys over there don't look like they'd be very welcoming..." Deuce broke the tension.

Lilia broke his gaze from Niho and stared at Deuce, nodding politely. "Kufufu. Apologies for dropping in on your meal. Until we meet again." he bowed and walked off, back to his table.

Ace's voice was tense as he whispered, "Our table is easily over 20 meters away from them but you're telling me that he heard us talking? Freaky!"

Trey recovered and cleared his throat. "Well... Let's just say that Diasomnia has many peculiar members. Many of their members excel at magic in general. Their dorm leader, Malleus Draconia, is counted among the top five wizards in the world."

"Malleus Draconia…?" Niho asked curious over the familiar name spoken at the ceremony.

"You don't know who he is?" Trey asked.

"Not a clue." and she really didn't. What he looked like or even sounded like, but only his name and title. And the fact that it left shivers if even he was mentioned.

"Honestly, Malleus is like super super super crazy. Our dorm leader is his own brand of crazy, though." Cater mused.

Ace scoffed, "So true! All I did was eat a single piece of tart and he collared me. His narrow-mindedness is super crazy."

"Hmm? I'm super crazy?"

Ace nodded vigorously. "Yeah. He blew right past "strict" and is just a tyrant."

Deuce grit his teeth, "Ace! Behind you!" he spoke, his eyes not leaving the figure behind him. Ace turned around and saw who it was.

"Ah! Dorm leader!"

Riddle glared down at Ace with familiar steely grey eyes. His hair was brushed back, save for two small strands bended together in the shape of a heart ahoge. He was dressed in the uniform, black gloves on both hands, the jacket was left unbuttoned, and the tie was in a bow with a small golden crown pin on the right tail of the bow, a brown leather belt looped around his waist and for shoes he had black and red oxfords.

"Oh my, Riddle. You're super crazy cute today~" Cater sang with a polite smile. Riddle's glare zoomed from Ace to Cater. But the redhead could see through the third's year facade.

"Hmph. Cater. If you talk too much it's going to cost you your head."

Cater's smile instantly fell. "Hey now, gimme a break!"

"Ffgna! This is the guy who put that weird collar on me during the entrance exam!"

Riddle's gaze shot to the two instantly. "You're the freshmen that caused all that fuss of expulsion yesterday. Will you knock it off, calling someone's unique magic a "weird collar"? For goodness sake. The headmaster is soft. If you forgive rule breakers the whole system would collapse. All you have to do is cut the head off of those who don't follow the rules."

"The things coming out his mouth don't suit his looks…" Ace whispered.

"The headmaster appears to have forgiven you but make no mistake, the next time it happens, I will not." Riddle glared at them both, Niho mostly.

Ace broke the tension and intervened as politely as possible. "...By the way, dorm leader, is there any way...you could, say, remove this collar?"

Riddle gave a side-eye glance. "I was going to if you had learned your lesson, but the way you were just talking shows that you haven't at all. Keep it on for a little while longer. Don't worry. As first years you'll only be learning fundamentals, not actually using magic."

Niho wondered what he meant by that.

"You also won't be able to cause a scene like yesterday, isn't that great? Now don't just sit around chatting away, finish your lunch and head to your next class. Laws of the Queen of Hearts, No. 271: "One should eat lunch and leave their seat within 15 minutes". If you break the rules... I'm sure you understand?"

"Hah, another weird rule…" Ace sighed.

"The answer is, "Yes, dorm leader!""

Both first years shouted together, "Yes, dorm leader!"

He nodded, satisfied. "Very good."

"I'll look after them for you." Trey assured.

"...Hm. You're the vice dorm leader so I'd expect you to not act foolishly. Following the Laws of the Queen of Hearts, No. 339: "After finishing a meal one must always drink a lemon tea with two sugars." Riddle said before walking off, muttering to himself. "I must go buy sugar cubes from the school store, so I'll be on my way. Letting the sugar cubes run out is a huge offense, I can't believe…"

As soon as his back was turned, Niho heard dripping from afar but it vanished.

"Ho boy… That was close." Cater sighed.

"That guy is so obnoxious."

"Whoa! That's rude!" Deuce glared at Grim.

At a nearby table, two students in the same dorm spoke to one another, catching Niho's attention.

"Did the dorm leader leave?"

"I broke the Laws of the Queen of Hearts, No. 186: 'One must never eat a hamburger steak on Tuesday'. I was terrified of what would happen if he ever found out that I ate one."

"Ugh... At least let us eat whatever we want…"

Cater & Trey shared a look, which she caught.

'Something screwy's going on behind the scenes….' she thought to herself. "Tell me something I don't know: why is someone like Riddle, Dorm leader?" she asked.

"...In his first week at school, Riddle took the seat of dorm leader. He speaks harshly but he's trying to make the dorm better. He doesn't have bad intentions." Trey assured.

Niho didn't seem satisfied with his answer, believing he was hiding more than he let on. 'Why is he defending Riddle? Why can't he understand what Riddle is doing is creating chaos and fear?'

"Someone with good intentions doesn't randomly collar people!" Grim spat, making the two third years share an awkward laugh.

"Grim, you're at fault for going crazy during the ceremony." Niho hit him on the nose with her finger, a thing usually done to dogs if they misbehave. He yelped and scrunched up in pain.

"Grr… But that collar cuts off your magic. It's horrible and it sucks!"

"Hm? You mean Riddle's unique magic?" Cater peaked up, seeming to want to steer away from the Riddle convo and to something else.

"Unique...means that it's magic only he can use?" Deuce asked.

"It's magic that's strictly limited to one person... Simply put, it's magic that reflects the character of the user that only they can use, so "unique magic". You'll learn about it in class eventually." Trey answered.

"Riddle's unique magic lets him seal another person's magic for a fixed amount of time. It's called… "Off With Your Head!""

Niho nodded, remembering when he used it in the ceremony all too well. "Yep, should have known." Not only was it the same saying as the Queen of Hearts, she could even hear Riddle's voice saying it in her mind.

"Eep! Just the name is terrifying!" Grim trembled.

"As a wizard, having your magic sealed hurts like losing your head. Therefore, you shouldn't break Riddle's rules inside the dorm." Cater reminded.

"It also means he isn't scary if you follow the rules." Trey put it.

"So what you're saying is I have to go buy a tart or Cater will kick me out again?" Ace looked exasperated, but it only grew at Cater's response.

"That's right. As decided by Laws of the Queen of Hearts, No. 53. In particular, Riddle really looks forward to eating the first piece of a whole tart so he uh, won't forgive you unless it's whole."

"You said you want to be friends so can't you just overlook that!"

"Dude, do you want that thing off your neck or not?" Niho glared at him. "Then shut up and deal with it."

"That is that and this is this." Cater shrugged.

"But aren't whole tarts pretty expensive?" Deuce couldn't help but bring up.

"Blegh. I don't have that kind of money."

"Then how about making one? The other tarts were all made by Trey."

Niho raised an eyebrow. "That's unexpected!"

Ace's jaw dropped. "Trey, you made that tart? Amazing! It was as good as a pro's."

Trey looked away a tad bit embarrassed. "Haha, thank you. It's true I have all the tools and seasonings... but I won't help you for free."

"What!? I have to pay for it!" Ace's face became white as a sheet of paper.

Trey chuckled, "Haha, I'm not gonna squeeze money out of underclassmen. If we're going to make the tart Riddle wants to eat next, we need a lot of chestnuts. Could you gather them for me?"

"Either way is a pain. Well, how many do you need?" Ace relented.

"To make it for the Unbirthday party we'll need...about 2 to 300, I think." Trey calculated in his head.

"That many!?"

"Do you really need that many?" Niho asked skeptically.

"If we want one big enough to get Ace off scot-free, then yep! You get used to these things…." Cater nods.

"Then I'll have you roast them and remove the outer shell to take out the nut." Trey recalled from memory.

Grim and Deuce didn't want any part, though. "Can I go home?"

"Me too."

"Traitors!" Ace seethed.

"I did make a promise to Ace to help him get out of this, so I'm up for it." Niho raised her hand.

"Thank you!" Ace sighed. "At least SOMEONE is kind enough to help me out of this." he glared at the other two at that.

"You know, tarts that everyone makes together are always the best. To make memories? You might even make your debut as a food blogger." Cater waved his phone in the air.

"Keep it a secret from Riddle, but freshly baked mont blanc is the most delicious. Only those who help make it get to try some." Trey added to persuade the others. Grim seemed into it instantly.

"Oooh ooh ooh! Let's get a move on! We're gonna pick chestnut after chestnut after chestnut!"

"You changed your tune quickly." Niho said blandly.

"There should be plenty of chestnut trees in the forest behind the campus botanical garden." Trey pointed out.

"Then we meet after class in front of the botanical garden." Ace planned, gaining nods from the others.

"Go! Go! Chestnut picking!" and the bell rang.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The day seemed to pass by pretty fast, because before they knew it, it was after school already.

The trio walked through the trees, the fresh air blowing through their hair. ""Waaaah! There's so many chestnuts all over the place! It's a forest of all you can eat mont blanc… Guugh." Grim went to grab one of the chestnuts.

"Grim, there's something you should know." but before she could warn him-

"Let's get picking... Oww ow! Ffgna! The thorns pricked my paw!" Grim shook his paws in pain, trying to bite out the thorns in his skin.

"We can't pick them up with our bare hands. It'd also be good to get a basket or something to put them all in." Deuce sighed.

"The botanical garden probably has whatever we need inside." Ace suggested.

"Good plan." Niho nodded.

"Let's go take a look."

Inside the greenhouse, it was even more gorgeous than from outside.

"Wow, it's bigger in here than I thought." Ace whistled.

Niho stopped in her tracks and saw something flash by her eyes. A garden, almost like this, except there were some stone statues dotted here and there, depicting humans in everyday life….it set her off a bit.

Grim noticed her dazed look and tapped her cheek. "Niho?"

She gasped and the memory left. She looked at Grim who stared back at her, confused. In fact, both Ace and Deuce looked at her as well. "What?"

"You look a bit spaced out...you okay?" Ace asked.

"Please, when is she NOT okay?" Grim scoffed, earning him a whack on the head from Niho, who feigned stability.

"I'm good. Really."

Deuce just took her word and looked around the area. "There should be a caretaker of this place. We should split up and find them."

"I'll go right." Ace said.

"And I'll head left. Grim and Supervisor, you guys can go straight to the back." Deuce directed and they all split off.

Feet away, Grim and Niho scanned the area. Grim, on the food, and Niho for the caretaker.

"Hey, hey, look at this. There's a bunch of fruit! They smell so good!" Grim's mouth watered and sneakily reached up a paw,

"No swiping!" she slapped his paw away.

"...Oof!"

Niho stopped. "Did I step on something?"

A deep voice from behind her spoke up. "Hey. You've got some nerve stepping on someone's tail without saying anything."

She whipped around seeing it was the lion guy from before. His chocolate brown hair looked a bit unkempt, two braids handing on either side, a pair of lion ears perched atop his head. He had medium toned skin, the same summer green eyes as before and the signature scar going down over his left eye. He wore a white collared shirt, the top portion left undone, a yellow vest, black gloves with several bracelets on his wrist, the armband dangling from his waist and the brown belt holding his pants up, and leather sandals. Swishing a bit irritated behind him was a tail. A LION'S TAIL.

"Are you the caretaker here? You seem like an impolite guy…" Grim blurted out, and that earned him yet another whack on the head. He shouted in pain, ears scrunching down and glared up at Niho.

"I was right in the middle of a nice nap, then you go and walk all over my tail. This sucks." The lion growls and stacked up to her, towering over her.

Niho shook her head frantically. "I'm so sorry!"

The lion squinted his eyes and stared deeply at her face. "You... Aren't you that herbivore that the mirror said can't use magic? Hmmm…" He then leaned close to her and sniffed her.

Niho froze, mind running rampant with thoughts. 'Ugh… H-he's smelling me!'

His eyes open and it's almost….merciless. "...Ha, I really don't smell a speck of magic on you. I don't feel like taking on an opponent that can't resist." But then he stopped as he sniffed her again, a look crossing his face. "Wait, there's something else…."

If Niho was scared before, she was a bit more petrified now. 'What if he knows I'm a girl?!'

"Man, being scrutinized by this guy is making my fur stand on end….."

The lion shook it off and continued, "Whatever. I, Leona, can't just let you just walk away after stepping on my tail. I was having such a lovely nap and now I'm just pissed. I'm gonna take a tooth." The lion, now dubbed Leona, smirked and slowly stalked up to Niho, backing her back up.

"What?! I already said I was sorry!" she begged, feeling her back hit a wall.

"Hurry, let's get outta here!" Grim pushed her.

"Leona!" A new voice called out. Leona turned to face someone smaller than him by several inches. Biscuit brown locks, beigey skin and blue gray eyes. The newcomer, like Leona, also had ears, but they looked close to a hyena's. He wore the uniform too, but it looked a bit large on his small frame, the sleeves having been rolled up as well as the hem of the pants, and he wore light yellow sneakers to finish.

"Huh?"

The hyena hybrid ran up to him. "Ah, there you are. It's time for your remedial lessons, y'know."

"Ugh… The annoying one's here."

"It's because you keep failing, Leona. If you keep getting held back we're gonna be classmates."

"Knock it off already. I don't need lectures from you, Ruggie."

Ruggie's ears flatten in annoyance. "I don't enjoy nagging you! You'd have no prob if you just tried. Whatever, let's go!"

Leona clicked his tongue and turned to Niho. "Tsk... Watch out next time you come onto my turf. Herbivores."

He only made it three steps when Niho called out, "Hey!" and they looked back at her. "I'd prefer if you called me an omnivore."

Leona gave her a weird look but rolled his eyes and walked off with Ruggie, never looking back once.

Grim was a bit petrified from the experience. "...Ffgnaa! I'm sweating bullets! What's with that intimidating caretaker!?"

Niho shook her head. "I don't think he's the caretaker…"

But two familiar voices snapped her out of it. "We found a basket of tongs over there!"

"...Did something happen to you two?"

"Let's just say….we barely made it out of the lion's den…" Niho put it.

"Ah, that's right! The chestnuts! Our tart will get smaller if we don't get a bunch. We'll talk about our encounter with the caretaker while we work."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"...and that's what happened." Grim finished while they continue to pluck chestnuts.

Ace shook his head in disbelief. "There is absolutely no way that was the caretaker."

"If I think back now that I've calmed down, that guy was wearing a yellow vest, so he must be from the Banana dorm." Grim flubbed up his wording.

"Banana… does he mean Savanaclaw? Is it just me or are there a lot of delinquents at Night Raven College…?" Deuce pondered.

Ace looked down into the basket and nodded with approval. "Our chestnut pile is pretty big. Let's get them back to Trey!"

"Nyaha! This tart is gonna be awesome."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

In the cafeteria's kitchen, which was pretty spacious and full of cooking ware, the three hauled the basket inside.

Trey greeted them with, "Welcome back. You picked quite a bit."

"With this, we can make a huge tart!" Grim climbed up onto the counter.

"Peeling all this is going to be a challenge but... Let's get to it." Trey clapped his hands.

"All of this... There's no end in sight…" Deuce groaned. Trey patted him in the shoulder.

"Making sweets is all about preparation."

Ace was another story…."Yeah yeah, we get it! I'm so ready to get this over with!"

"It takes a bit of work to peel off a chestnut's shell. Let's use magic to cleanly peel them off." Trey instructed.

"Ace and Niho can't use magic, so peel them off normally, please." Deuce offered.

"I'll show you I'm faster than your magic!" Ace smirked at Niho, but she gave him a neutral one back.

"You're gonna eat those words one way or another, bub."

Speaking of eating, Grim kept stuffing his mouth with a few of the nuts while speaking, "You guys—munch munch—You guys should just watch me and learn! Hyahaha!"

"Stop snacking!" Ace slapped the chestnuts in his paws away as another memory came back to Niho. She was in a kitchen similar to this one, but instead, she was helping with baking cookies. She didn't know the exact flavor or how they looked, but….it felt nostalgic in a way she couldn't quite pin it….

"Well…..if it helps from a level of experience, I've made cookies from scratch. They turned out pretty good!...I think…" she muttered the last part to herself.

"Really? Never took you for the cooking type...then again, I never even cared what type you were…." Ace snarked, earning him a whack on the head from Deuce. "OW!"

"Be nice! " Deuce turned to Niho and sent her a silent look of apology.

Trey, who had been watching Niho for the past few minutes nodded at her work. "Nice! You're a pretty fast learner!" she sent him a small smile of appreciation and continued.

"Look at me, Niho! I managed to peel them off cleanly!"

"Whoop-de-doo." she said, as her eyes remained on her work, irritating Ace a bit.

Trey moved to Ace's side and nodded at him. "I'm surprised. You're very dexterous, Ace."

"Pretty much~ I'm a different caliber from Mr. Serious and that cat over there." Ace smirked at the failed attempts from Deuce and Grim alike.

"I peeled them cleanly, too! Take a look for yourself!"

"Me, too! Compare mine to Ace's!"

Niho snorted, "Yea, don't underestimate what people could have up their sleeves, Mr. Act-before-you-think."

Trey hid a small smile of humor and picked up. "Haha… We still have a lot to peel, but look at you being so energetic."

After sometime, Deuce shelled off the last few bits, "This is the last one… There! Alright, we're finished!" he dropped it into the basket, massaging his fingers from the work.

"Damn, the basket looks good enough to eat on it's own…." Niho mused.

"Thanks for the hard work. We finished so quickly even though we have non-magic users." Trey smiled.

Grim bragged out, "Hehe~! Everything's a breeze as long as I'm here!"

"Alright, next up's straining them."

Ace felt his heart drop in his stomach. "There's still more!?"

Niho gave him a mock-pitying glance with, "Welcome to the world of baking."

But the three groan in exhaustion and lean on the counter.

"Puah! We're finally done with the peeling!"

"Ugh… My arms hurt…" Deuce whines. But Niho was just fine.

"Haha. Good job. Your hard work will make it tastier." Trey congratulated. Grim, having fallen down on the counter itself, stared up at the ceiling.

"Mmm, I'm full from just the smell."

Trey listed off the next instructions: "Next we mix butter and sugar into the chestnut paste then add oyster sauce as the secret ingredient."

"Oyster sauce!?"

Trey nodded at the two's flabbergasted looks. "Yep. The savoriness of oysters adds depth and richness to the cream. Here's some young oyster sauce with the walrus' seal of excellence. Famous patissieres always use this in their tarts."

Niho raised a quizzical eyebrow. 'Walrus? Ugh, not that stupid story.'

Deuce stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Seriously... That's a pretty salty sauce."

Ace thought for a minute then nodded after. "Even chocolate gets put in curry all the time... It might be good."

Trey tried not to laugh out loud at their stupidity but failed. "...Pfft. Ahaha! It's a joke. Oyster sauce does not belong in sweets."

Ace flushed bright red and socked him in the arm. Not too hard though. "Screw you! You said it with a straight face."

"Haha! If you took a second to think about it you'd figure it out. Don't just accept things without a healthy amount of skepticism. Better study up." Trey winked.

Grim gave an unimpressed look. "This guy looks nice but is pretty good at lying…"

"Next is the fresh cream… Huh?!"

"What's the matter?" Ace asked.

Trey looked at the size of chestnuts gathered, silently doing some arithmetic in his head and then answered, "You all gathered so many chestnuts that I got ahead of myself and made too much marron paste. Ahh… We don't have enough whipped cream to mix into it."

Deuce rose a hand up. "I can go out and buy some. Is it sold at the... school store?"

Trey nodded and scribbled down a list of things on a piece of scrap paper with his pen. "You can find anything at that place so it should be there. Could I ask you to pick up a few other things? 2 cartons of milk, a dozen eggs, aluminum cups, and 5 cans of fruit…"

"I don't think I can carry all that alone. Niho, do you mind coming with me?"

She nodded. "Sure!"

"I'm going too! I'm tired of mixing flour endlessly." Grim volunteered as well.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The walk to the store took a bit, but when they made it, it's like they had stepped into a mix between a voodoo doctor's alir and a pawn shop.

"Pardon us... Wow, this place is amazing. There's a crystal skull… grimoires... What kind of taxidermy is this...?" Deuce drank in all the details with wide eyes.

"Woah. Do they really sell whip cream here?"

From behind the curtain in the back, a young man stepped out. Darkened skin with black hair and purple streaks in dreadlocks poke out from underneath a purple top hat with a red sash tied at the base and a skull pin. He had dahlia purple eyes, and wore a standard outfit of a purple dress vest and jacket, dress pants with an apron over them and dress shoes. But the odd thing that stuck out the most were the skeletal details across his clothes and painted on his arms and hands and neck with a small necklace to match. And a nametag that read, "Sam".

"Hey! My lost little demons, how goes it? Welcome to Mr. S's Mystery Shop. What can I do for you today? A charm for uncharted lands? Mummy of an ancient king? Or how about some cursed tarot cards?" He greeted.

"Ffgna! You scared me!"

Deuce stepped up and handed him the list. "We'd like the things written here."

"And some cans of tuna!" Grim smiled.

Deuce turned back to shoot him a glare. "No! We don't need any tuna!"

Niho did the same. "I said no tuna cans until you pay me back."

Sam took the list. "What what? Whipped cream, eggs... Oh! A nice sweet line-up. Okay! Coming right up." he disappeared in a flash. Then came back with all the things in hand.

"Ooooh... He really has them." Deuce was impressed.

While he rang up the items, Niho took her time to look around, when she saw a display of journals. A thought crossed her mind that it'd be a good idea to get one and write down anything she remembers or else she'll forget it in time.

"Sorry 'bout the wait. It's a bit heavy, you got it? If you order now you can get a 1/100 size floating platter to carry your purchases for 30% off."

"What's that, it sounds cool!"

"W-we're fine! Time to go, Grim!"

"Ffgna! I wanna hang out more!"

Niho turned to the two. "You two wait outside. I have some things I want to get."

They looked at her oddly, but comply. She put down a journal she had picked out of the display. A small faux-leatherback covered journal with plenty of pages, maybe around 250, to write down her thoughts and memories. Blue by the spine and left, Red in the bottom right and Purple with hints of Yellow at the top right waterolored the front of the notebook with the pattern of a flower indented on the front, to the side, and had a small blue ribbon attached inside to act as a bookmark.

"I'd like this please and do you have any flower seeds and garden tools I could use?" She requested, taking out her wallet, courtesy of Crowley, along with a few bills as part of her weekly payment.

"Comin up!" Sam nodded. Two seconds later, he came back with everything in hand. "What say you? Want 1/100 size floating platter to carry your purchases for 30% off?"

"Uh, maybe later." she declined politely.

"I wanted these things because….after visiting Heartslabyul once, I saw the roses lining the palace….and I made it a task of mine to spruce up the place a bit and maybe liven it up a bit as an invite to others like myself into the dorm when they drop in. IF they do….and someone said our place looked...a bit bland…." she explained.

Sam nodded as he rang up her order, "Well, you're pretty efficient when it comes to work for the future." and gave her purchase with a smile.

"I'll let you know if I come up with something else." Niho nodded, taking her things in hand.

"Ok, ok. Make sure to come by again, my little demon! Bye!" Sam sent a small wave as she walked out the door.

"Sorry for the wait." she apologized. But Deuce told her it was no biggie and they made their way back.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Back onto Main Street, evening was just about to set over the horizon as a mix of purple and pink littered the sky.

"That store was crazy." Deuce shook his head.

"Hmph. Stingy Deuce." Grim put his nose in the air.

Deuce gave him a glare. "Who are you calling stingy?!" but something else caught his eye. "Hmm. Niho, that bag of cans looks pretty heavy. I'll carry it. I'm used to carrying heavy stuff." He took the other bag from her carefully, letting her take care of her own things.

"Do you usually buy a lot when you go shopping?" she asked as they picked up walking again.

Deuce began rambling, "Yeah. My mom always buys more than we need during timed sales, and I get stuck carrying all the heavy stuff. Since I'm the only boy, it was my job to take care of anything requiring strength... Ah, my bad. I've just been talking about myself."

Niho shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "Helping around the house is pretty great."

Deuce shrugged subtly, "...That's not true at all. I always made mom… Ooof!" but he wasn't looking where he was going and ended up hitting somebody in the side, and a crack sounded. He looked down only to see a goopey mess drip inside.

"Aaah! The eggs!" Grim fretted.

"Shit! Half of the eggs are destroyed! There's egg all over the bag…!" Deuce looked up to tell off the person who bumped into them, but they beat him to the punch.

And it was the two classmen from earlier today at lunch. "Hey you! Watch where you're… wait... You're the fool that wrecked the egg in my carbonara earlier!"

His friend followed suit. "It's you guys again. You can't catch a break!"

Deuce spat back, "You were the ones who jumped out from behind the corner. At lunch, it wasn't like you couldn't eat the egg anymore but you still came to pick a fight... Just now, you destroyed half of our eggs."

Grim stood proudly at his side."Yeah, that's right!"

"And? You're sayin' it's our fault?" the first guy scoffed.

"Yes, please pay for the eggs. And please apologize to the chickens, too."

"Hmmm? You're getting all worked up over eggs." the second students snickered.

"...Huh?" from there, the two began to taunt him.

"They didn't hit the ground, right? Don't sweat the small stuff."

"We saved you the trouble of breaking them!" They started laughing like it was the funniest thing they've heard.

Niho, behind Deuce, felt her anger surfacing already. She felt like putting them in their place for their mindless deeds, but an already fuming person, with a dark air around him to match, spoke up before she could.

"...to laugh about."

"Huh?"

Deuce's har covered his eyes as he looked down, clenching his hand into a fist. When he looked up, his eyes had the same crazed look from before back in the mines. "This ain't something to laugh about!" he snarled. "You don't get to make the decisions for us! These eggs... Instead of becoming a chick they were gonna make us a delicious tart! You get it! Huh!?"

The two students backed up at his change in attitude. "What's this guy's problem all the sudden?!"

"If you don't wanna pay for the six eggs you broke... I'll just punch you six times instead." Deuce thrusted the bag out to Niho for her to hold as he cracked his knuckles.

"Whaaaa!?"

"Grit your teeth, assholes!"


	6. Faulty Reception!

**I** **thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.**

"Grit your teeth, assholes!" From there, Deuce began going feral and animalistic on the two. Although he was outnumbered two to one, his strength made up for it. In just thirty seconds, he had not only given the first guy a dislocated arm and black eye, but the second one a bloody nose and broke a tooth.

The two delinquents picked themselves up from the ground. "Th-This guy is straight-up mad! That wasn't just six hits! Liar!"

"Let's get the hell outta here! I'm sorry to all chickens!" They started running down Main Street, begging for mercy as Deuce kicked up the dirt.

"Apologize 100 times next time you eat eggs! Dumbasses!" Deuce spat out as they kept running.

"W-woah now!"

"Eeeek!"

Deuce panted roughly until he froze, realizing what he did. "Huff, huff... Ugh!"

"What's gotten into you?!" Grim shouted, still in shock.

"You acted like an animal back there!" Niho followed.

He hung his head in shame, grinding the heels of his palms into his eyes in frustration. "...I-I screwed up... I vowed that I'd definitely, definitely be an honors student this time...!"

The two shared a confused look.

Deuce told them everything. "In middle school, all I ever did was screw around... I constantly skipped school and spent all my time getting into fights. I disrespected all my teachers, hung around sketchy upperclassmen, and bleached my hair to death. Even ran around all over the place riding a magical wheel. I was a terrible person that went as far as to use magic to lord over those who couldn't."

"Just now you went full bad boy on those guys!"

Niho shook her head. "I never would've guessed."

Deuce pushed the tears in his eyes away as he kept going on. "Then, one night... I saw my mom hiding away in tears as she called my grandma. "Was the way I raised him wrong? Would it have been better if he had both parents?" She was wrong. Mom never did anything wrong. It was all me! So when the carriage from Night Raven College came to get me… my mom was so happy and I don't want to make her cry again. This time, I'm going to be an honor student my mom can be proud of... Then I do this... Shit!" he beat himself up.

Grim and Niho look at one another. "But, y'know... Does being an honor student doesn't mean you have to grin and bare everything?"

Deuce looked up at them with confusion.

"Those delinquents deserved another 10 punches if you ask me! You fought them off before I could, though." Grim supported.

"Yeah, that's right!" Niho nodded.

"You guys…"

Niho put her hands on Deuce shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile. "Honor students get mad, too."

Deuce seemed to be relieved at her words. "Really? ...Heh heh. May those baby chicks rest in peace." he sighed.

However, one thing, said with a snicker, crashed down on him. "I hate to say this but there won't be any chicks. The eggs weren't fertilized." Niho broke it to him.

And Deuce began an existential crisis. "WHAT?! You've gotta be kidding!?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in the kitchen, the three made it back in one piece with their things in hand.

"Oh, you're finally back. That sure took a while."

"Let's finish this up." Trey ushered them forward. "All that's left is to mix the marron cream into the tart."

Grim bounced up and down with giddiness. "Will we be able to eat after this!? I'm getting excited already~!"

"Alright, let's finish this in one fell swoop!" Ace cracked his knuckles.

"Don't lose focus now, got it?"

"You got it!"

"Yeah!"

After adding the cream, eggs and the other ingredients to the chestnuts, the tarts started coming together nicely.

"Nyaha! What 'bout that~!"

Trey nodded, watching them at work. "You guys are good. Keep up that pace."

"This is easier than I thought!" Niho giggled.

"Hehe, anything's easy-peasy for the future great wizard, Grim!"

Ace snorted, "You get carried away too easily!"

Grim carefully placed the marron glaze on top as Trey stepped in with a sifter of powdered sugar.

"Lastly, we dust the top with powdered sugar…" the sugar fell like light snow atop the tarts and they were finally finished.

Grim and Ace shared a high-five. "Finished!"

"Finished…" Deuce looked away glumly.

Ace looked at him weirdly. "Did something happen while you were out shopping?"

Niho tried not to snicker as she choked out, "Chick shock…"

"For 16 years... I believed that…" Deuce felt like hitting his head against the wall.

Ace fell against the countertop, his arms hanging limp. "Making sweets takes so much time. I'm exhausted…"

"Good work! Is the tart finished? The decorations are super cute! It's totally magicam-gramable! Let me take a pic!" Cater popped in and started snapping away with his phone.

Ace jumped up in surprise. "Ah! What'd you come here for?"

"I came by to check on my cute underclassmen working so hard. Ahaha, you look beat!" Cater tried not to laugh, but failed clearly.

"Things you aren't used to tire you out quick. So when you're tired, you need to eat something sweet. Go ahead and try the mont blanc we made." Trey offered with a smile.

And everyone took one each.

Ace looked at Cater and asked, "Cater, you did come here just in time to eat the tart?"

"You can just think of me as the taste-tester." the carrot-headed male winked.

Grim stuck his face close to the tart and took a huge whiff. "Waaahaaa… It smells so deliciously sweet. The chestnuts on top are glossy while the cream underneath is so fluffy! Let's eat!"

And all six of them took a bite, the sweetness dancing on their tongues.

Ace began to nibble more. "Ah! Holy crap!"

"So good!" Cater nodded.

"Better than I thought!" Niho nodded with satisfaction.

Deuce nodded with her. "Amazing... it's like what you get in stores."

"It's not overly sweet but still has a richness to it! It's like a garden of chestnuts in my mouth!" Grim smiled, ignoring the whipped cream smeared on his nose.

"Is that a compliment?" Trey raised an eyebrow.

Cater's eyes lit up and he waved at Trey frantically. "Oh, yeah. Hey, Trey, do the thing."

"The thing? ...Oh, that."

Ace's eyebrow rose up. "That?"

But all Trey asked them was, "So, what are your favorite foods?"

"Mine's cherry pie and hamburgers." Ace went first.

Grim just started listing stuff. "My number one is canned tuna. And cheese omurice, and grilled meat, and pudding!"

Deuce followed. "If I have to pick, omurice, I guess."

And Niho, "I'll try Pizza, please."

Cater finished. "And mine is grilled lamb with diablo sauce."

"Alright, here we go. ...Doodle Suit!" Trey snapped his pen up and down like a whip. A few green sparkles lit up the tarts.

"This is…."

"Now take another bite of the mont blanc."

They do so. "Hm? Hmmmmm? This is...mont blanc but it tastes like cherry pie!"

Grim kept taking bites to taste different things. "It tastes like canned tuna! Ohh, now it's cheese omurice! And grilled chicken, munch munch, and pudding!"

Cater laughed at their surprise. "Isn't it fun? If you did this while having tea with a girl, they'd be super impressed!"

Niho had to admit: this was pretty crafty. But didn't know what to say at Cater's remark.

"It's amazing! Is changing the flavor of food your unique magic, Trey?" Deuce asked.

"Actually, it's magic that "overwrites a component". So not just taste, but I can also overwrite the color or scent or really anything. The overwrite only lasts a short time so that's why it's like a doodle or scribble. That's why I've named this magic 'doodle' since it's not permanent." Trey explained.

"With your "Doodle Suit" my dream of all you can eat canned tuna isn't just a dream. It's so much better than the magic Riddle used to bully people." Grim rolled his eyes.

Trey shook his head as an uncertain look crossed his face. "No... My magic is nothing more than child's play when compared to Riddle's. He's on a different level." he snuck a look at the clock and cleared his throat. "...It's getting late. Let's go home and give Riddle the tart tomorrow. Tomorrow is the Unbirthday Party. Don't be late."

"Niho, will you let me sleepover again? My cruel upperclassmen aren't gonna let me in the dorm!" Ace whined dramatically.

Cater feigned hurt. "Wow. So prickly!"

Deuce elbowed Ace off her. "Ace, don't force Niho to spoil you too much."

Grim joined, "Yeah! You gotta pay to stay! 10 cans of tuna!"

Niho shut him up by covering his mouth with her hand and opposed, "Don't give them to him!"

"What! Are you telling me to sleep outside?"

"Then Deuce, why don't you stay in their dorm to keep an eye on Ace? As the vice dorm leader, I give you permission." Trey smiled slightly.

"I can live with that. Someone's gotta keep him in check." Niho accepted.

"Trey, aren't you spoiling the newbies. I'm jelly. Niho, can I go too?" Cater smiled at her, a glint in his eyes that immediately made Trey stand between them.

"Hehe, not allowed." he denied, pushing him away from her.

Niho glared over his shoulder and told him, "No way. First-years only."

Cater's mood dampened. "Tch. Bringin' me down."

Trey turned back to face her as Cater went off to go sulk in the corner. "Niho, I'm sorry about forcing these two on you. We're counting on you tomorrow."

She waved it away and replied with, "Understood." taking the blancs with her.

Everyone gathered their things, and went their separate ways."Tomorrow is the Unbirthday Party. This damn collar is definitely coming off! Just you watch, Riddle." Ace growled.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Trey and Cater walked into the lounge to see it was almost dark outside the glassy dome. The small wall lamps were lit up with soft light in the room. A fireplace stood off to the left side of the room, the embers dying. Red furniture lined with red faux leather dotted around the common area. A couch on one side, a chair on the other, and a cluster around a marble table by the bay windows. On the coffee table was an arrangement of red roses and a few card coasters scattered around the table. Underneath was a red rug, adorned with rose outlines on the four corners. The walls were adorned by decorative playing cards, giant clocks and picture frames angled quite oddly. And hanging from the ceiling were glassy light fixtures with heart-shaped petals shaped together like flowers.

One student ran in, huffing out of breath, "Trey, Cater, I'm so relieved you're finally back!"

Trey saw the troubled look on his underclasman's face and asked, "What's the matter?"

The student shook as he explained, "There were 10 residents in violation of the Queens of Hearts, No. 256: "Just after 8pm one must drink lemonade with honey." They got their heads offed by Riddle…"

Cater sucked in a breath of air between his teeth and shared a look with Trey, one thought crossing their minds: things were getting worse.

"I can't live like this anymore! I'm rendered immobile by rules I don't understand… I want to transfer to another dorm…" the student choked back tears that nearly fell. Trey walked up to him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder with reassurance.

"...Everything's going to be fine. I'll go talk to our dorm leader. You should go back to your room." the student nodded silently and turned and fled.

"...Ugh. I suppose I should go get some tea ready to try to win favor with the queen." Cater sighed and made his way to the kitchen.

"Ugh, I'm sorry, Cater. Oh yeah, make sure to pick herbal tea instead of black tea. I'm pretty sure rule number 153 mentions something about evening tea…" Trey sighed and Cater saluted back with some tiredness.

"...Will do." they shared an uncertain look before they parted.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Niho gasped, hearing the dripping sounds again….but this time, they sounded closer, louder, to her than before….

"Niho?"

She gasped as she looked at Deuce, who stared at her with worry from the doorway, "You okay?"

"Uh….yea, I thought I….heard something…." she partially lied.

"Well, okay. We're just about to play some games. Come downstairs when you're done." he smiled softly and closed the bedroom door behind him.

"No way! You cheated!"

"Ace, I doubt he could cheat at a simple game like this."

"She's right. How exactly can you prove I'm cheating?"

"I'll find out one way or another!"

The three were playing the M&M challenge, and everytime it was Deuce's turn, he kept getting a double match of the same color, while their eyes were closed. While Ace had his cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk's. But at Deuce's recent turn, he couldn't take it anymore, spit out the candy in his mouth and started yelling at Deuce, accusing him of cheating in the game.

"Ugh, screw it. Let's do something else!" He threw up his hands in surrender.

A smirk was on his lips as he produced a pack of cards from behind his back. "Let's play old maid instead! I'll make you both eat dirt!"

Deuce and Niho just shared a look and decided to play along, knowing Ace would keep pestering them til they cracked.

They removed the queens and folded the deck, Ace insisted on running the gig.

And they jumped into the game.

First was Ace. He got a pair of sixed: the 6 of Diamonds and 6 of Hearts. He placed them down as a match. After, he held out his fold, face down, to Deuce. He plucked a card and added it to his stack.

"Feeling nervous?" Niho asked Deuce.

"Not in the slightest." he answered honestly.

After the first few times, everyone went at least four times. And Ace, may or may not have decided to tease the others to make them nervous.

"Anyone nervous?" he smirked.

"If we were nervous, it'd show in our eyes." Deuce replied blandly.

"Are you doing this to get a rise out of us?" Niho asked.

"Wha-no! What makes you think that?!" Ace scoffed.

"Well, just saying you're not cuz I'm out." Niho shrugged and threw the last of her cards in the center of the pile.

Leaving Deuce to face Ace alone, she ate a handful of chips as she watched them duke it out. Spoiler: Deuce ended up winning, leaving Ace a sore loser and pouter for the next fifteen minutes or so.

Just as it was close to lights out for others, more like Niho since she was the only one awake, she slipped out the journal she had bought today and a pen tucked in the pages. She uncapped the pen and began to write using the moon as her only source of light.

"August 30th….First Year." she began to write. "As of now, I'm trapped in a world where...things may not be what they are...I'm at a school known as Night Raven College, a place where wizards alike can hone their magic, which is what's normal here...I can't remember anything from my previous life despite knowing I'm from Earth. And at certain times, I'm getting flashbacks to things that I've done before. So in order to not forget them and help me connect the dots, I've bought this journal to help me record my experiences so I may find clues as to what may have happened before I woke up here and why I did...I just hope things don't end up as bad as before when I came here...

"However, I'm not alone. I've made two friends on my first days here: Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade. Ace is a bit of an ass, part of the time, while Deuce is the more reasonable of the two. But sometimes they tend to clash with one another and I'm the one who ends up having to rip them apart before a fight breaks out.

"Other than that, there's only two memories I've gained so far...the first was when I visited the botanical gardens today as well as a time when I've made cookies before...I'm not sure what they mean, but maybe I'll regain more and see what they mean eventually..."

After that, she capped the pen shut, and tucked her journal in her bag, before slipping under the covers and laid down, pulling the blankets to her chin, letting sleep engulf her brain.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Niho felt her world become black and white as the gardens came to life before her. "...Another dream?" she murmured.

The Queen of Hearts stood over the three cards and Alice, who were on the ground before her. "You went and sullied my roses! Prepare yourself!" she roared.

The Three of Clubs sprang up first. "I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness. It's their fault."

"It wasn't me. It was Ace!" the Two of Clubs protected himself.

"Was it you?" she pointed her heart fan at the Ace, who shook his head, splattering paint droplets on the ground.

"No, it was Two!" He fought back.

"Two's doing?"

"No, it was Three!"

"Enough! Off with all their heads!" She screamed, gaining cheers from her guards and she, and Alice helplessly, watched them getting dragged off to their deaths.

A Two of Diamonds spoke up, "Of course you lose your head for using the wrong color."

The Three of Spades nodded and followed, "I can't believe anyone would mix up red and white."

The world faded to black and Niho stood there, going over what she had witnessed. "You don't need to take someone's head over rose colors."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ocean blue eyes fluttered open to the feeling of something shaking her shoulder gently. She looks up to see Deuce hovering over her with a bit of persistence in his eyes.

"Niho, wake up. Today is the Unbirthday Party. It's off with our heads if we're late!" he whispered and helped her up.

She sat up to smooth out her bird nested hair. "Another strange dream…" then came a knock on the door.

"Hm? Sounds like someone's here." Deuce went to go answer it and came back five seconds later with Cater behind him, looking chipper and peppy as always.

"G'morning! Did you enjoy your sleepover? Was it an evening of pillow fights and cards games?" he chirped.

Ace yawned, ruffling his hair up into an even bigger mess than before. "Good morning, Cater. Yeah, we played cards. Grim didn't know the rules so we just played Old Maid."

Grim pouted from his spot. "Crap! I couldn't win at all!"

Deuce gave him a bland look "You have no poker face when you pull the Joker."

Cater snickered at their antics. "Hehe. Let's go get the tart you made yesterday and apologize to Riddle. There was some trouble yesterday so I'm low on man power and need you to come now."

"Man power?"

"Ahem! Talking to myself...hehe…" the third year covered. "Well then, let's get going to the Unbirthday Party!"

After a quick rush through of getting ready in their uniforms and breakfast, they made it back to Heartslabyul by a split second.

Ace kept speed-walking down the pathway with determination set on his face. "I'm gonna get the tart to the dorm leader and apologize…"

Cater, now in his gym gear, waved to them as they approached the gates. "Yo! You're here. I've been waiting for me!"

"I'm back. Sorry for the wait, me." Uniform Cater smiled.

Wait….WHAT?!

"There are two Diamonds!?" Deuce backed up, shielding himself behind Ace.

"You have a twin?!"

"Since when?!" Niho added.

Gym Cater answered, "Nope, I'm the only brother. This is my unique magic, "Split Card". I can use magic to make clones of myself."

Deuce slapped his forehead and dragged his hand down his face. "Ugh, so this is why we couldn't beat you no matter how many times we took you down…"

Adding more fuel to the fire, two more copies appeared, this time in his alchemy gear and the Ceremony robes respectively. The third waved and the fourth sent a wink to Niho.

"Welcome back~"

"Welcome, Niho."

"I've had it rough! You guys are so late." Gym Cater sighed.

"I think I'm gonna pass out…." Niho held a hand to her forehead, feeling a migraine coming along.

"What?! There's more!"

Gym Cater steps up. "By the way, I'm the real Cater. The more copies I make the harder it gets and I can't keep it up for a long time. Anyway, it's off with our heads if we're late. I don't have enough hands so lend me yours. I'll take you right to Riddle once we're done."

Grim and Ace didn't hesitate to glare at the third year. "More painting roses red?"

"You're really full of yourself."

But he merely laughed. "Hehehe! Let's get started!" He led them inside the castle.

"Alright~!"

"Leave it to me!"

"Okay!"

"Take care of the roses right by me, got it, newbies~?" Cater threw over his shoulder as he went to keep his copies in check.

"I'm really tired of all this manual labor, y'know…?" Ace growled, lugging up the paint can.

"Nothing will get done if we complain. Come on, let's get started." Deuce pushed him.

"I wanna praise you for finding a way to work, but… Hurry up and paint before the roses wilt~!"

Unlike the fiasco from yesterday, things went more smoothly than ever. Before long, the roses became a pristine and deep red.

Deuce puffed out of breath, "We did a lot better than yesterday!"

"You did well! Oops! It's almost time. Well done, me's!" Cater checked his watch.

The four copies saluted, "Aye, aye, sir~" before they vanished.

The group hurried over to the tea gardens.

Red, Black and White streamers decorated above the area, tied securely to the tree branches, along with strands of lamplights painted yellow and blue, shaped and sized differently. Several tables lined with white tablecloths dotted the grassy area, and gold and red chairs rimmed the circle for each guest to take a seat. Several decorations became the centerpieces of each table: ranging from a stack of hats to a gold candelabra, stacks of tea cups filled with small plants or a small vase with roses. Along the tables, an array of sweets filled the surfaces among fine porcelain cups and a teapot. But one stood out the most: A high heart-shaped backed chair sat in the center of a semi-circular table, the most extravagant for the Queen.

The sounds of trumpets blared, signaling the arrival of said Queen.

One student shouted in a loud voice, "Announcing our great leader! The Crimson Ruler! Dorm Leader Riddle!"

The others followed with, "Dorm Leader Riddle, hip hip hurray!"

And out walked Riddle, donning his Dorm's uniform. He wore a white and red coat dress lined with gold trimming and buttons with white pants underneath. The collar of the coat was heart-shaped and inverted with red and black, and a small tie pinned with a god crown at his neck. A gold and Black sash crossed his chest and pinned at his waist with a ribbon pin emblazoned with a Gold "H". The sleeves of the coat were rolled up once, revealing red fabric underneath and black leather gloves. And the Heartslabyul Logo was printed onto the bottom left side of his shirt. The inside was rich red with the card symbols printed. His shoes were thigh-high black boots, tipped with gold at the soles and heel, with Heart insignias painted black and red attached at the rims. Draped across one shoulder was a deep black cape, red on the inside, and decorated with a white collar and rose pin. And to finish, a small gold crown sat on the left side at a slight angle.

"Hm. The roses are red, the tablecloth is white. A perfect Unbirthday Party. You made sure there is a mouse asleep in the teapot, correct?" he asked Trey.

Trey, in a different getup appeared beside him. He wore a white undershirt under a black vest, unbuttoned, with the same pattern as Riddle' coat. White pants with a black and yellow sash around his waist and pinned the same way, and black and white high tops. The jacket he wore was black on one sleeve, and checkered on the other, lined with red inside, and gold trimming. The same dorm logo is printed on the bottom left of the jacket and a card with the "3 of Clubs" was pinned close to the button holes. On the collar of the jacket was the same rose decoration. He wore fingerless gloves and a white fedora with the same striped sash and pinned with a green clover pin.

"Of course. The jam to put on its nose at the right time is also ready."

Riddle smiled. "Wonderful."

Grim gawked at the sight of their clothes."Fuwah! Look at their outfits! They look so cool!"

"Heh heh! The Heartslabyul dorm uniform is very cool! The style is on point and makes for great Magicam! Which means it's time for me to change." With that, Cater swished his pen and he wore the same party outfit as Trey. Except with a few differences: the vest he wore was red, as were his sneakers, and the card pin was the "4 of Diamonds". "Laws of the Queen of Hearts also states we have to dress formally on party days. As a special service I'll get you coordinated, too."

He muttered a small spell and the uniforms they had were gone, now in place of the white, red, gold and black getups. Deuce was dressed similarly to Trey, but had a "2 of Spades" card pin and Ace, like Cater, with an "Ace of Hearts" pin. Niho's, well...hers was similar, except her pants were shorts, her vest was red, but the card symbols were black for them to pop out against the red, her shoes were a mix of both black and red with the white high tops, and her card pin was something akin to the King of Hearts. And Grim's bow was now Black and Red, checkerboard on the tails and lined with gold.

"Oh...!"

"Oho! I'm hot stuff!"

"Nyaha! I look good!"

"You all look great!"

Cater nudged Ace, "Don't forget to give Riddle the mont blanc. Let's go party!" and dragged them away to an open table just as the clinking of a glass is heard.

Riddle took his place at the semi-circled table and raised his glass. "Before the croquet match, a toast. You all have your teacups? Today is nobody's birthday, so to this Unbirthday Party! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

After several minutes of waiting, Cater looked over at Ace and pushed him up. "Ace, isn't now your chance?"

Ace sighed, "Alright…" He got up, with a small thumbs up from Niho, and approached Riddle with a firm stance. "Excuse me, Dorm Leader."

Riddle looked over to the source of the voice. "You are... Ah, the freshman tart thief."

Ace nodded and looked away, albeit nervously. "Um, I would like to apologize for eating that tart before. So I baked a new one."

This caught the second year's attention. "Hmm? I'm curious, what kind of tart?"

This seemed to make Ace comfortable and he smiled, "Thank you for asking! It's a mont blanc stuffed to the brim with fresh chestnuts!" He presented the tart in all its glory. He had this in the bag!

…..or so he thought…..cause at that moment, Riddle grew frigid and backed up, an indiscernible look crossing his eyes. "A mont blanc?! I can't believe this!" Then, his eyes set on Ace in a glare, making him back up in surprise.

"Huh!?"

"What?!" Niho got up from her place and ran to Ace's side.

"Laws of the Queen of Hearts, No: 562. "One must never bring a mont blanc to an Unbirthday Party." You've violated an imperative rule! How could you do something like this?! The Unbirthday Party is utterly ruined!" Riddle shouted.

Deuce nearly dropped his cup at the number. "N-no. 562?!"

"How many of these are there!?" Niho shook her head in disbelief.

"There are 810. I have every single one memorized. I am the dorm leader, after all." Riddle answered, quite haughty.

Niho whipped her head around and sent Trey an accusing glare. "Trey, you were trying to get Ace into more trouble?!"

Cater saw the anger growing in her eyes and frantically whispered to his fellow third year, "Oh, no, we're so screwed… Trey, did you know?"

But the vice leader whispered back, "Ugh… I've only committed 350 to memory. We let our guards down. To think there's rules about the kind of tart…"

Riddle continued with as he stood from his place: "As the dorm leader of Heartslabyul, out of respect to the strictness of the Queen of Hearts, I can not close my eyes to this matter." he raised his gold red and black-hearted staff and pointed it first at the tart. "Dispose of this mont blanc immediately!" then swung it towards the first years. "And throw those rule breakers out!"

Ace held up a hand to pause before anyone could move. "Wait just a moment! You really have dumbass rules like that?"

"Yeah! I'll eat it if you're just gonna toss it!" Grim scowled.

"My deepest apologies, Dorm Leader. I was the one who said we should make a mont blanc." Trey stepped up to atone, along with Cater, the latter nodding frantically.

"Yeah, yeah! We didn't think there'd be a rule for something like that." But Riddle wasn't swayed and stood his ground.

"Making it isn't the problem here. The fact you brought it here today is the problem!"

Now Niho couldn't control her tongue. "What is wrong with you?! Do you have any idea how hard we all worked on this?! I have the right mind to take this mont blanc and shove it down your ungrateful throat! And anyone who follows that kind of rule is an idiot!"

Riddle snapped his eyes at her in malice. "Idiot… you say?"

Cater turned around and did a cutting motion with his hands, telling her to stop. "Wait, stop! That word is taboo." he turned back to his liege, a nervous smile playing his lips. "And Riddle, these are freshmen who are still learning the ropes."

Ace shoved him aside, angered more than before. "No, I'm gonna say it. Anyone who obeys that rule and tosses the tart is an idiot. Stop screwing around."

"And I don't care if it is taboo! This needs to be told." Niho sneered at Cater, directing her gaze at Riddle as she stood beside Ace.

Deuce was the last to follow them, a cold look in his eyes. "I agree with Ace and Niho. Of course, I think that rules are meant to be followed but... This is too arbitrary!"

Riddle crossed his arms as he stared down the trio. "You've got quite the nerve, talking back to me. Listen well. Even breaking insignificant rules leads to huge problems."

"The other residents are afraid of getting their magic sealed so they don't speak up, but I'm sure they feel the same!" Ace blew up, pointing a finger at the others for emphasis.

"Ah no, we.."

Riddle's gaze fell onto them next. "Huh, is that so?"

It's as if all the joy got sucked out of their faces and fear replaced it. "N-Not at all, Dorm Leader!

"Everything is based on your judgement!"

Grim's mouth dropped open, "Those guys…!"

Ace clicked his tongue. "Tsk... Wishy washy jerks. Lame."

Riddle slowly walked out from behind the table as he talked. "In the year that I've been dorm leader, there hasn't been a single student held back or expelled from Heartslabyul dorm. Only Heartslabyul can say that. In this dorm, I am the one with the highest marks and the strongest. That makes me the most correct! So all you have to do is follow my rules without talking back!"

"That's...!" Deuce was tongue-tied.

Riddle was several feet away from the rebel group. "I'm not cutting off your heads because I want to. You keep breaking the rules and leaving me no choice."

"H-He's normally not like this…." Trey whispered, but Niho didn't believe this crap.

"You say that, but I don't believe you." Niho snarled at Trey.

"If you won't obey me, then it's off with all your heads!" Riddle swung his staff towards them, the tip pointing at the three in a threatening manner.

Cater forced himself to smile, despite the lingering dread in his gut. "Now, everyone just say, "Yes, Dorm Leader"."

But all three stood their ground.

"... I can't do that."

"Me neither."

"This selfish tyrant, I reject him."

Riddle's aura became increasingly mad. "What did you just say…?"

"We're saying you're a hot-headed tyrant that wastes food for his own selfish whims!" Grim blunted out, catching both Niho and Deuce off.

"Grim, you moron!"

"W-whoa now, we did not say that-!" "

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

"Guah!" the locks snapped in place around their necks.

"Gah! It's this damn collar again!"

"Crap, it won't come off!" Deuce tried wrenching the contraption off his neck, but it was stuck there like a vice.

Niho looks down, scared that she may have gotten one, but then sighed, remembering she had no magic at all. "Looks like that magic won't work on me because I have no magic to seal."

Riddle glared at the third years, eyes wide as golf balls and pupils small as pinheads. "Trey, Cater! Throw them out!"

The two looked away and muttered, "...Yes, Dorm Leader."

"W-what're you-!?"

"So sorry, but we don't go against the dorm leader." Cater gave an apologetic smile.

"...I'm sorry." Trey relinquished.

"Yeah? That so! Come at me!" Ace ran at them with all he had.

"Forgive me…" before Ace could land a hit at him, Trey caught him by the wrist and twisted it under arm and held it at an unnatural angle, likely where it could snap. Ace hissed in pain as he was forced to his knees, and led out of the grounds. Niho and Deuce didn't bother fighting Cater and followed him out silently.

"Well then, Ace and co., see ya later~"

"We'll work on pacifying Riddle so you guys can apologize and come back to the dorm."

"Shit! I am never apologizing!" Ace exploded. But before Trey could walk off, a hand snatched him by the collar of his jacket and he was held by his ear, painfully, and brought to his knees. He looks up to see Niho, looming over him with a dark look across her face.

"Trey, I hope you can forgive yourself with what you've done. Or in this case, doing nothing, you coward." she spat out at him before shoving him away from her. Trey nearly fell back to the ground, but regained his footing and breathed a bit heavily. He held a hand over his heart, before turning to look back at Niho, her not losing her cold gaze at him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he scurried away in fear, not looking over his shoulder.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Riddle readjusted his crown, which nearly slid off his head from the debacle seconds ago, as he saw the two return, Trey albeit shaken up. "Huff… My goodness. Let's put that behind us and get back to the party. We must get to the croquet match. Ah, we're already 15 minutes behind schedule! This is terrible!"

"Yes, Dorm Leader…"

Cater tapped his shoulder "...Are you really alright with this?"

A look of fear and reluctance was set in Trey's eyes. "... There's nothing I can do." was the only thing he said, Niho's cold words and dark glare etched into his mind, her words echoing on in his mind…

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The dripping sounds came back to her….even louder than last time, making Niho stand on edge…. 'If we don't figure something out soon, I fear Riddle might end up with a terrible fate.'


	7. Fair Resistance!

**I** **thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.**

Ace's lips were puckered in anger, like he nearly sucked on a lemon. His eyes blazed with fury as he kicked up a spot in the grass in frustration, and paced in frustration.

"ARGH, I'm so pissed! Screw that tiny, red tyrant! Does he think he's the Queen of Hearts or something?!"

"What happened minutes ago proved it, dumbass…." Niho grumbled, sitting on the concrete, head in her hands, propping her chin up. Deuce was next to her, head between his knees, mumbling in shame.

"I disobeyed the dorm leader and got kicked out….I'm even further from being an honors student…."

"Huh….the collar's heavy and it hurts…." Grim stared up, trying to lift his neck from the heavy collar.

"Ny'all look so stylish with those meowtching collars~!" A voice cooed. Grim looked up from his spot only to see….

A floating head.

Ace and Deuce screamed and Grim flew up from his spot, and hid behind Niho. "Fgyya! A floating head!"

"What the hell?!" Niho screamed.

But after that, a body began to materialize into a normal being. Upon closer inspection, the person had shaggy mauve hair with light lavender highlights, gold colored eyes, and palish skin. He wore a purple and pink striped shirt, a white hoodie, gold rings on his fingers, jeans with abstract patches and purple combat colored boots. But the most noticeable features were his cat-like grin and atop his head were cat ears, pierced with everlasting earrings.

"Oops! Fur-got to bring out my body!" He punned.

"Whoa…." Deuce breathed. "So, you actually have a body. Who are you?"

"I'm Alchemi Alchemevich Pinka. I'm a great enigma with magic that's both like a person and like a cat." the neko grinned widely.

"Alche... Come again?" Ace was tongue-tied.

"Hehehe~ Everyone calls me Che'nya. At the very least... I'm on a different level than those guys in there." Che'nya laughed as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder to where Riddle and the others were at.

"Another weirdo…" Niho whispered exasperatedly.

"Really? Around here, this is normal." Che'nya shrugged, throwing her a sly smile.

Ace stormed up to the neko and jabs a finger at him. "I'm in a bad mood thanks to the absurd situation caused by the tyrant. Outta my way."

Che'nya smiled wistfully, knowing whom Ace meant. "Riddle, a tyrant... Hehehe. Well, mew're not incorrect. He's been a serious one since he was little... Hehehe."

"'A serious one?'" Niho tilted her head in confusion.

"Do you know something?" Deuce raised an eyebrow.

"If you think I know, then I know. If you don't think I know, then I don't." Che'nya riddled.

"Which is it?" Grim pushed.

"What's this? Do you wanna know all about Riddle?"

"Yeah, I do! What kind of upbringing turns you into that kind of tyrant?" Ace nodded furiously.

Che'nya crossed his arms and grinned. "You should ask your glasses fur-end all about it."

"Glasses… Do you mean Clover?" Deuce guessed. Che'nya nodded.

"He's known Riddle since he was a wee little thing. If mew wanna know about Riddle, he's the one to talk to~"

"Those two: FRIENDS? Highly unlikely….." Niho emphasised as if the words didn't fit like puzzle pieces.

"They were childhood friends? It didn't seem that way at all…" Deuce agreed.

"If mew think so then it must be so." was all the cat-hybrid said, his eyes wandering to Niho. "So it IS true~! I heard a lil rumor floating 'round the halls that a new student showed up outta nowhere, one with zero magic in his veins no less, and had to see it for mewself!" He smiled inwardly.

"You may think this world is all fun and games, new kid, but I wouldn't go round frolicking like nothin! There may be secrets that not even mew can understand~..." his tone took on a tad of darkness when he said that, eyes losing their light, making Niho feel a bit on edge with his claim. But it vanished in a snap and he was back to his usual smiling self. "So there's nothing for mew to talk to me about meow, is there? See mew!" And just like the cat in the film, his body began to evaporate away, til his head remained last.

"Ah, hey!" Deuce tried to stop him, but the only thing that lingered through the air was him humming an eerily familiar tune to an eerily familiar rhyme as he slipped away…

"He had a weird cat-titude... Ah! I'm talking like him!" Grim freaked out, his paws flying to his lips.

Deuce was the only one who had a plan of action after Che'nya's appearance. "If we keep these collars on, we're not going to be able to take part in class. Let's go see what Clover has to say. And…" his gaze wandered to Ace, who caught up with what he was saying and sneered at him.

"I will not apologize to get this off so don't even say it!"

Niho nodded, still a bit on edge from Che'nya's words to her, "Let's ambush him."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

In the lounge, Riddle sat in the big heart-shaped chair, staring at one student with a strict gaze etched into his eyes. His hands were folded together by his fingers, elbows propped up on the armrests and covering his mouth.

"Laws of the Queen of Hearts No. 249 states: "The one in charge of feeding the flamingos must wear pink." You were supposed to be in charge of feeding the flamingos today. Where is your pink? Why aren't you wearing it?"

The student shook in his spot, trying to state his side of the story. "My deepest apologies, Dorm Leader… I-It's being washed! Please, don't cut off my head!"

Riddle felt a vein throb in his head. "This makes the second time you've broken the rules. I can no longer overlook it. OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

"Guwah!" the collar appeared around his neck.

"Make a 5000 word written apology and weed in the garden for a week. Then I will gladly unseal your magic." Riddle, cooled after his scream, bargained.

"But...That's…"

"I'm not taking your head because I want to! It's because all of you break the rules! Enforcing the rules is for your own benefit. Understood?" he side-eyed the two third years and spoke, "Trey. Cater. Take him outside."

They look to the ground and mumble, "...Yes, Dorm Leader."

Niho swore the dripping became even louder at that moment from far away…..

XXXXXXXXXXXX

In the library, the trio waited patiently for the vice leader to show his face. It was difficult getting into their school uniforms without magic on Ace and Deuce's part, and no way was Niho helping them. It wasn't long until their patience was rewarded, for soon Trey walked through the doors, a sigh leaving his lips. They moved.

"Clover." He looked up, startled, but calmed down as soon as he saw it was the first-years.

"Huh? Oh... it's you guys…"

"We figured you'd come to the library to return the cookbook for the mont blanc and camped out here." Deuce was the first to approach, motioning to the book in his arms.

"We REALLY need to speak with you." Niho followed. "There is no way in hell we're apologizing to that nutcase of a dorm leader for something we believed was unfair and unjust!"

"We really can't agree with the way Riddle is doing things." Ace ran a hand through his hair in stress.

"…I bet." the third year nodded slowly, trying to understand their pain.

"What do you really think about him? Since you were kids, have you always been so subservient to him?" Ace put out there.

"Who did you hear that from?" Trey asked, perplexed.

"From a guy named Che'nya." Deuce answered.

Trey racked his brain until a familiar look crossed his face and he nodded. "Che'nya... Oh, that guy."

"Aren't you also older than Riddle? Just get angry at him." Grim pouted.

"Trey, don't you get it? If you keep going along with his insanity, you're just encouraging him!" Niho tried to set him straight.

Trey looked at her like he wanted to agree with her, but something held him back from doing so... "I'd do it if I felt it necessary. But... I can't bring myself to scold him."

"Why!?" Ace growled.

"Everything Riddle is was "made" by following strict rules."

Deuce and Niho share a look. "Huh…?"

"W-We don't understand…."

Trey inhaled deeply and proceeded to explain. "In his homeland, there isn't a single person who hasn't heard of his parents. As Healers, they're that famous. His mother is especially exceptional, and she wanted Riddle to be exceptional as well. So from dusk till dawn... His every move was decided for him, down to the smallest thing, as part of his study program."

"Down… to the smallest thing?"

"From what he ate, what he wore, what he consumed, to his friends, everything was decided for him. Nevertheless, Riddle never said a word and strives to meet those expectations and completed his unique magic at age 10. On top of that, he has maintained his spot at the top since elementary school. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult that must have been."

Ace was silent throughout the story, but Niho, having seen the reasoning, spoke up instead. "Then the reason he's like this is his parents' fault?"

Trey looked at her. "Riddle thinks being bound by strict rules is for one's own benefit. He was bound by harsh rules and still became a leader so he believes it works for anyone. Anyone can become like him. And that means breaking the rules is utterly unacceptable. I mean…"

Ace looked away from him, "If he gives the rule violation any sort of positive reaction, it means going against the way he was made...is what you mean."

Trey pressed his lips in a thin line before speaking, "...I understand why you think he's a tyrant. And that his way of doing things is incorrect. But for me... I just can't bring myself to scold him."

"Ffnaa…"

"Riddle has a past like that…"

"I can't believe it."

"...After hearing all this, I finally understand. The way Riddle is now," Ace jabbed a finger at Trey accusingly. "-is your fault."

"Huh!?"

"I actually agree with Ace on this one." Niho stood by his side, a cold look in her eyes as she stared down Trey.

"Riddle had no say in who his parents were. But, you've at least thought they were wrong for a while, right?"

"That's…" but Ace didn't let him finish, nor Niho.

"Just like flowers, children don't choose where they're born into. And they don't choose what family they're born into or who gave birth to them!"

"If you think Riddle is making the same mistakes his parents did, say so. Put him on the right track. What have you accomplished by feeling sorry for poor Riddle and indulging him? You're just going to watch while he becomes hated and isolated from everyone!?"

Trey could only stare open-mouthed at Ace, words flying out of his mouth like daggers.

"H-hey... Ace!" Deuce tried to stop him from hitting a sensitive spot, but Ace pushed him away and kept berating Trey to no end. By the end of his claim, he was shouting with complete fury.

"Or what? Are you keeping quiet 'cause you're afraid of losing your head? So lame! You're not childhood friends. You can't even call yourself his friend!"

"EXCUSE ME! ALL OF YOU! BE QUIET IN THE LIBRARY!" Everyone turned rapidly to the voice coming from the other end of the shelf to see the Headmaster striding up to them quite angrily.

Grim and Niho just gave him sour looks. "You're the loudest here."

"How ironic…."

"Oops, apologies." he coughed into his fist to cover up his slip-up and straightened out. "My goodness, the library is for quiet study or reading."

"I'm so sorry." Niho spoke up for herself, not sparing a glance at the others for their own rudeness.

Crowley nodded to her. "I'm glad you understand. By the way, what are you all doing here with such grim faces?"

"About that…" Deuce winced and proceeded to explain what happened before Crowley crashed their talk. By the end, the birdman was nodded, understanding the situation.

"I see, that's the situation... You're against apologizing to get the collar removed, but you don't feel that you can persuade Riddle to let this go without fuss."

"Yeah, that's about right." Ace shoved his hands into his pant pockets.

"So then, if you don't think you can compromise with the dorm leader you have the option of transferring dormitories." Crolwey brought up. "However, your dormitory was chosen for you after the Dark Mirror saw the quality of your soul so... There are quite a number of troublesome procedures and rituals that are required."

Niho scoffed, "Seriously? Work just to switch out your dorm? What kind of a school is this?"

"Transfer, huh?" Ace repeated the word and shook his head, hair swaying with him. "That makes me feel like I'm just running away so no thanks."

Crowley tapped his chin in thought. "Hmm…Well, How do you feel about applying for a decisive match with Mr. Rosehearts to take his place as dorm leader?"

Everyone screamed like they just heard an asteroid would hit earth. "WHA?!"

"Everyone! You're shouting!" Crolwey went back to scolding.

Ace fired back, "Because you are saying really crazy things!"

"And besides, challenging Riddle may as well be a death sentence for us!" Niho scoffed.

"It is not crazy in the least." Crowley reassured. "After all, that's how Mr. Rosehearts became dorm leader."

"Now that you mention it, how are the dorm leaders chosen at Night Raven College?" Deuce wondered.

"We heard that Riddle became dorm leader a week after he started school." Grim remembered.

"Being nominated by the previous dorm leader, winning a decisive match against the current dorm leader. There are many other ways it's decided. A decisive match is one of the more simple." Crowley answered.

"Isn't using magic to settle personal squabbles prohibited?" Ace asked.

"Personal ones, yes. Going through the proper channels with the headmaster overseeing a decisive match is another matter."

"It's prohibited to place handicaps on your opponent before a decisive match, too. You would be able to get the collar removed without apologizing to Riddle. But…" Trey mumbled.

"All students are given the right to take the role of dorm leader the moment they enter this school. What do you say? Mr. Trappola. Will you challenge Mr. Rosehearts?" Crowley looked at the two first years.

"Whatever happens, I'll back you guys up." Niho smiled with determination. That seemed to lift both Ace and Deuce's spirits up.

"Okay. I won't know unless I try."

"Count me in, too."

"Don't forget me!"

"Unfortunately, Grim, students from another dorm cannot issue a challenge." Crowley shot down.

"Ffgna?! Then who exactly is gonna take my collar off?!"

Ace petted him behind his ears. "Haha! I'll order Riddle to take it off if I become dorm leader."

But Grim muttered to himself, "Shit. This was gonna be a chance for me to show off my skills…"

"I hope the odds are in your favour, Ace…" Niho prayed.

Trey was shocked, to say the least. "Are you guys serious? Deuce, I never would have expected this from you."

Deuce looked at him with a haughty face. "Really? As a man, don't you want to aim for the top sometimes? If we're doing this count me in, make it a team-play." he cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

"Here it is, bad-boy mode." Ace chuckled.

"Wha? It's...normal?" Deuce blushed.

Crowley nodded. "I shall take care of the bureaucratic matters." he turned and strutted away from them.

Niho put them on track when he left. "We should come up with a plan…"

"Yeah. Anyone got any bright ideas?"

Deuce chuckled a bit darkly. "Huh. I don't see us beating Riddle in terms of magic. But, if it's a fist fight we got this."

Grim smiled maliciously. "True, he seems like a little weakling!"

"Oops, I forgot to mention. In this decisive match any attacks other than magic are forbidden." Crowley popped up behind them.

"Gah!?"

"So much for that." Niho shrugged.

"Ha ha ha! Follow the rules and enjoy your decisive match! The formalities will be taken care of tomorrow so be mindful of the timing. I bid you adieu." This time, he actually left.

Ace rolled up his sleeves. "A-Alright! I'm not super confident in our magic but...I'm sure it'll be fine!"

"Y-yeah!"

"I've still got this collar on me! You better go all out!"

Trey could only stare at them with surprise. "You guys…"

Deep in Ace's eyes, a look of revenge was set in stone. "When I become dorm leader, I'm going to make him say, "I was wrong. I'm so sorry"! And I'll stop him paralyzing everyone with his crazy rules!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

-Later that night, at the Ramshackle dorm-

Niho sighed as she slipped on her pjs and climbed into bed. Grim was already sleeping at the foot of the bed, so this was a good time to write in her journal. From the drawer in the nightstand beside her, she popped it out along with her pen and flipped to the next clean page.

"August 31st, First Year. I had just experienced my first Unbirthday party at Heartslabyul. Which didn't go as I had thought. The guys and I, after so much work, thought we'd finally be able to receive Riddle's forgiveness with the mont blanc we broke our backs trying to prepare. However, it seemed fate had other plans...Riddle blew up over the fact that the party was ruined, threw away the dessert, collared Grim and Deuce along with Ace and threw us out. He was a monster…..or so we believed. A cat-hybrid by the name of Che'nya appeared and he told us to ask Trey about Riddle and his past. We managed to corner him in the library and got him to spill the details. Apparently, his mother is the one behind him being like this. In the end, both Ace and Deuce, from Crowley's suggestion, decided to challenge Riddle for the dorm leader seat. The match is being held tomorrow…After seeing Ace step up to take on the task, it's like I'm seeing him in a new light! He's sticking up for his beliefs and it's refreshing!...But….why do I have a bad feeling in my gut that something terrible will go down…..the dripping sounds are getting louder now and then….I think I'm the only one who can hear them….what does it mean exactly? Will it tie into tomorrow?...No one knows…."

She let out a yawn and felt sleep overtake her senses. 'Maybe that's enough writing for tonight….' she thought. She put the book and pen back in the drawer and slid it shut. Throwing the blankets over her form, she was out like a light.

Black overtook her sight as she felt herself getting pulled into the mirror once more. "Another strange dream?"

Alice stood on a stand, pointing up in the air. Her eyes were full of anger. "Your Majesty indeed. Why you're not a queen! You're just a pompous, bad-tempered tyrant!"

The Queen, sitting above her on a judge's table, laughed, "Hahaha... What did you say?"

Suddenly, the Cheshire Cat materialized on top of her head, grinning as he repeated what Alice said seconds ago, laughing as he disappeared. "She said you're a pompous, bad-tempered tyrant! Hehehe…."

The Queen shrieked, "Off with her head!"

Alice turned to see all the Card soldiers leaping in the air, diving down towards her in a shower as the King's voice rang out, "Wah! You heard what Her Majesty said! Off with her head!"

The cards blocked her vision and everything faded around her….

"Why didn't anyone stop the queen?" 'Were they too afraid to do the right thing?...'

Morning came before she knew it. Niho ripped herself away from her warm bed and got ready as fast as possible. She threw on her baggy black shirt from the first day, her darkwash jeans and sneakers.

"Oh! You're up already." Grim walked in through the door to see her grabbing her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Ace knocked on the door and poked his head in. "Today is the day! Let's get going."

She nodded and went to grab the ghost camera, just in case, when she froze in her tracks. The dripping was at its loudest point, the droplets ringing in her eardrums.

Trying to snap out of it, she took the ghost camera and made her way out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Outside the Rose Maze, a crowd of students from the dorm stood off to the sidelines in a semi-circle, talking to themselves.

"Hey, did you hear? There's some guy challenging Dorm Leader Rosehearts to a decisive match."

""That" dorm leader? I'll believe it when I see it. They'll lose their head in five seconds."

"Hey, this is the first challenge since Riddle became dorm leader. Let's watch how it goes!"

Cater and Trey were at the far right end of the circle, Niho and Grim with them. But the third years were mostly talking to themselves. "Ace and Deuce are fighting for the seat of dorm leader and challenging Riddle to a decisive match!? Are you for real?" Cater bit his fingers nervously.

"I tried to stop them…" Trey said helplessly.

"They sure are reckless. I hope it doesn't end up causing more trouble…" Cater sighed.

Trey nodded back, "Yeah…"

Standing in perfect alignment with the Rose archway, Crolwey stood in the centerfield of the dueling space. "The decisive match for the title of Heartslabyul Dorm Leader will begin shortly. The challengers are Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade!" He motioned with his left hand to where the two first years stood, ready for battle. "Defending his title is the current dorm leader, Riddle Rosehearts." Speak of the devil, the redhead stood, grip on his staff close to snapping it in two. "In accordance with the rules of this decisive match, please remove the magic sealing collar handicap."

With a snap from Riddle's fingers, the collars vanished in a sea of red dust.

Ace groaned, "Ugh! That collar is finally off!"

Riddle smirked smugly at them, "Don't worry, you'll have it back on soon enough. Savor the taste of freedom while you can. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard you wanted to challenge me. Are you sure you want to go through this?"

Both first years threw a glare at him, their eyes filled with defiance. "Most definitely."

"I wouldn't challenge you as a joke."

"Hm... Whatever. Let us begin."

"Riddle, what do you want to do about afternoon tea?" Cater called out.

"That's a silly question. The rules state that my teatime always happens at 4pm on the nose." Riddle scoffed.

"But it's already past 3:30…"

Riddle shot the quirky third year a look. "Do you think I'll ever be late? This ordeal will be over shortly." he moved his line of sight to the two before him. "As you can see, I am short on time. Dealing with you one at a time is troublesome. Both of you come at me at once."

"Fight on! Dorm Leader! Put them in their place!" the crowd cheered, Trey watching silently.

"They sure know how to run their mouths."

"Gah! Now I'm mad!" Grim fumed.

"We made sure to put a plan together!" Ace reassured.

"Headmaster, if you will."

"The match begins after the hand mirror I throw hits the ground and shatters. Get ready... set-" the hand mirror shattered. "-fight!"

But all was lost when-

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

"Gah!" -the collars came back as fast as lightning.

"Ugh... Shit! We didn't even have time to get our magic materialized!"

"To come this far and not be able to do a thing…"

"S-so fast!" Niho paled.

"Strong magic comes from a strong imagination. The stronger your ability to accurately imagine magic, the stronger and more effective it will be. Mr. Rosehearts has polished his magic to a beautiful shine." Crowley bellowed.

Grim quivered beside Niho. "Ffgnna… The level gap is too wide."

Riddle smiled, "Huh. It didn't even take five seconds. And you thought to challenge me with those skills. Aren't you embarrassed?" but his smile melted away into a frown of anger. "This just proves that rule violators are always wrong. Just as mother said."

Deuce glared at Riddle after getting his bearings together. "Guh… You're right, rules should be followed. But enforcing absurd rules just makes you a tyrant!"

Riddle shot him a dirty look at that mark. "Huh. Rule breaking has consequences. And, in this dorm, I am the rules. Those who refuse to obey don't get to complain when I take off their head!"

"That's completely wrong!" Niho shouted from her place in the crowd. As if he could see where she was, Riddle threw his anger at her next.

"What is and isn't wrong is all for me to decide! Hehehe… If you can't even follow a simple rule, just what was your education like? You were probably born from parents that can barely use magic and didn't receive much in terms of schooling before coming here. You're utterly inadequate!"

Niho felt her fury skyrocket past the breaking point. How dare he make assumptions on who her family was since she couldn't remember, let alone him not knowing she wasn't from this world in the first place! Without thinking, she ran forward and shoved him back harshly. Riddle stumbled from the forceful push, tripping over his cape in the process. He landed on his butt from the impact, shouting in pain. He struggled to his feet and glared at her.

"How dare you-!"

"Don't you dare insult me for things you don't know!" she snarled, tears burning in her eyes, but forced them back to appear strong. She didn't want to be seen as weak in front of people she didn't know. "I don't even remember my parents, my house or even my own room! You have no idea what that feels like! So don't you even say you know me when you know nothing about me, you monster!"

Behind her, Deuce and Ace could feel her anger and sadness rolling off in huge waves. They felt their hearts crack. After all they had gone through in their time together, although the two of them and her came from different worlds, the boys still felt the need to protect her and the truth of her identity. Although they had ways to go, they'd endure it for her sake and themselves. Before long, her anger became theirs as well. "...Why you…"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Ace ran past Niho, arm outstretched and he socked Riddle right across the face.

"GUH!" Riddle flew to the ground from the impact, and fell to his side, the air knocked out of his lungs.

Cater and Trey felt their hearts drop. "RIDDLE!?"

"Mr. Rosehearts!?"

"Huh...! He punched the dorm leader?!"

"Hahaha! He hit him in the face with a beautiful right hook!" Grim cheered, but Deuce could only stare at Ace and what he pulled.

"A-Ace!?"

Niho stared as much as the others, watching Ace hiss a bit on pain and shake his fist a bit to stop the stinging in his knuckles. He spat out as he glared at Riddle, "Ah, I don't care. About the dorm leader, about the duel, any of it."

"Ow..." Riddle laid on the ground, hissing quietly to himself. He felt something wet on his lip. Placing a few fingers at his bottom lip, he pulls it away to see blood on his fingertips. He was bleeding from his lower lip profusely. The shock overcame him fast. "...He hit me...?"

Ace loomed over Riddle, keeping his anger to a simmering point. "Kids aren't their parents' trophies, and kids' achievements don't determine parents' worth. The reason you're such a bastard isn't your parents' fault, I finally understand that! You didn't make a single friend to tell you off for being a tyrant in the past year, this is your own damn fault!"

"What... are you saying?" Riddle could only choke out, the world suddenly blurring around him as his vision stayed on Ace.

"Growing up under your obsessive mother was probably some kind of hell. But is all you have to say "mama this" "mama that"? Try thinking for yourself! You're no "Crimson Ruler"! You're just a baby that's good at magic! And if you think I'm just gonna let you get away with hurting Niho like that, you've got another thing comin', "Your Majesty"!"

Riddle slowly stood up from his place, letting Ace's words sink in. "A...baby? Me?" As soon as he processed what Ace said, he felt his defense shields move up. "...You don't know anything... You don't know anything about me!"

Ace merely scoffed, "Ah, I've got no idea. There's no way I would! Do you think I'd know, with that attitude? I'm not letting you off the hook."

"Enough, enough, enough! Shut up! My mother was correct! That means I am correct!" Riddle screamed.

"Riddle, calm down. The duel is already over!" Trey stepped forward, a stone look in his eyes.

"It's as Mr. Clover says. The challenger is disqualified for his outburst! Continuing to escalate goes against school regulations!" Crowley nodded. But then, a voice rang out from the crowd.

"The freshman is right! I can't handle this anymore!" Something was thrown, and hit Riddle in the same place he was punched.

"Huh!?" Riddle gaped as he saw clear white block his left eye's vision.

Trey froze, "What!? Is this… an egg? Did one of the residents throw it?"

Riddle wiped the yolk and egg whites off his face and stared at the crowd in fury. "Who did it! Who threw this egg?!"

But no one said a word.

Riddle clenched his hands as he laughed, which started innocently but then became demented. "… hahaha, AHAHA! You can't handle it? I'm the one who can't handle it anymore! No matter how many times I take off your heads, no matter how strict I become, you all keep breaking the rules! This guy, that guy, you're all selfish idiots! Fine, have it your way. If you won't come forward, I'll just punish all of you! Then it's off with all of your heads! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

All at once, every student in the crowd had the anti-magic collars. The students began to back away in terror. "Waaahhh! Get outta here! Guwah! The collar…!"

"Ahahaha! How's that? None of you can touch me! Hehehe… Strictly enforcing the rules does make me the most correct!" Riddle laughed giddily with a touch of dementia.

Crowley gaped at the aftermath the fight began and glared at Riddle strictly. "Stop this at once, Mr. Rosehearts! This isn't like you at all!"

Cater pulled Trey's jacket sleeve furiously, "Trey, this is bad... If he keeps casting magic like that…"

Trey, not acknowledging him, remembered what Niho said yesterday, her words coming back to haunt him, and he felt fear creep into his veins at her truthfulness. But he masked it with strictness. "Grr! Riddle! This is enough!"

"Hey, you! Not everything's gonna go the way you want! Throwing a tantrum when things don't is what makes you a baby!" Ace snarled.

Riddle's face took on a scarlet shade as he yelled back, "Take that back this instant! Do you want to be run through!?"

But Ace remained unwavered. "No way! Absolutely not."

"GRAAAHHHH!"

"This is seriously bad! Everyone get outta here!" Cater screamed. The atmosphere shifted into a darker tone. The skies became dark and a thick air of tension floated in the space around the gardens.

"Holy shit..." Niho breathed, in shock at the scene's change.

Grim felt his tail curl into himself. "Wah… Those rose trees are all starting to float around the garden...!" True to his word, as if the trees were petals torn off of a flower stem, the trees were ripped from the ground, roots clenched around a mound of dirt as they floated menacingly in the air around Riddle.

Deuce started to back up, taking Niho by the arm and dragging her back with him. "This is a huge amount of magic! Is he really going to come after us with all that?!"

"Rose trees, heed my call! To pieces with that man! Pieces with them all!" Riddle screamed, eyes dead set on Ace.

"This is bad! Move away!" Crolwey screamed.

"Hurry and escape!" But Ace didn't move an inch from his place, his eyes too focused on the trees as their tops, the leaves looked sharp enough to split a strand of hair, pointing at him like spears and they shot at him.

"Gah!" he threw his hands over his face to shield himself from impact.

However, it never came. The rose trees zoomed forward, intending to spear Ace to the ground. But as they were a hair's length away from smashing him, they vanished in a shower of green dust.

Riddle choked out a gasp, "What!? This is…"

Ace looked through the crack in his arm shield to see the trees were gone and several card symbols floated around in their place. "...H-huh?! We're alive? What…...are these card suits?"

"The rose trees have all been turned into card suits." Deuce gasped. "How..?"

"Riddle, stop now!" The first years turned to see Trey, his hand holding onto his pen, the gem burning like a small flame, and a glint of anger flashed in his eyes.

"Bout time you pulled something!" Niho was relieved, but her tone of voice was haughty.

Cater was in shock. "Trey's "Doodle Suit"?! Huh... What's going on...?"

"The magic sealing collar is gone too!" Grim felt around his neck. Niho looked up and saw that none of the students were wearing those wretched collars anymore.

"I told you. My "Doodle Suit" can overwrite anything for a short period of time. So... I overwrite "Riddle's magic" into "my magic"." Trey confessed.

Cater's jaw dropped. "You're kidding... That's possible?! It's a cheat!"

"Off with their heads! I have your heads! Why won't anything but card suits appear?!" Riddle screeched. His eyes darted around furiously until they landed on Niho. "YOU! Look what you've done, you brat!"

Niho set her eyes in a doll-like stare at Riddle, but inside her, a well of anger came simmering out. "You won't always have your way, Riddle. You tried to drag my family through the mud, and now you'll pay the price. Rules are meant to be broken, whether you like it or not."

If Riddle didn't feel more hatred for the girl, he was livid now. "I'LL KILL YO-"

"Riddle, stop this!" Trey interfered. "If you go any further you will lose everything! Look at everyone's faces!"

Behind Trey and Cater, the students cowered in fear against each other in a close knit group whimpering like beaten pups at their master's scornful actions. "W-was he seriously going through with it…"

"He went way too far…"

"A m-monster…"

Riddle stared down at his hands, covered in his own blood from Ace's attack earlier. He sounded scared and….."Huh...? Trey overwrote my magic...? Does that mean your magic surpasses mine?"

"There's no way that's the case. Riddle, calm down a bit and let's talk this out." Trey tried to get him back to his senses, but it was futile. Riddle was too out of it, seeing nothing but red wherever he looked. Even Trey's outline became cloaked in a red sheen...

"So you want to tell me I'm wrong, too? Even though we've been upholding these strict rules this whole time? I've been enduring and enduring and enduring this whole time! I...I...don't believe you!"

"Mr. Rosehearts, you mustn't! If you keep using magic, your magic crystal is going to be covered in "blot"!" Crolwey shouted.

'Blot?' Niho thought.

In a broken but infuriated voice, Riddle screeched, "I am... I AM! Always absolutely CORRECT!"

"RIDDLE!" but it was too late...


	8. Early Summer Rain Honesty

**I** **thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.**

"I am... I AM! Always absolutely CORRECT!"

"RIDDLE!" but it was too late….

The dripping in Niho's ears became a rainfall, filling her eardrums with nothing but the constant noise. She closed her eyes as tried to block out the noise, putting her hands over her ears as well, but it did nothing, the dripping becoming louder and louder by the passing seconds when…..it stopped. She opened her eyes, wondering where the noise went, when suddenly…..something, or someone, caught her eye.

Riddle's skin became an ashen grey like cinders. His eyes became a bloody red tint, his right eye lit a flame by red. A web of black markings trailed across the right side of his face. The gold crown he wore became a web of black, retaining its shape, black ink oozed from a choker that looked carved into his neck. His uniform changed drastically as well. His suit and the cape looked melded into one article, as splashes of red and black splattered onto the tattered ends of the cape, the white collar now looked like a backpiece of black iron wrapped behind his neck, the white collar torn. The suit was a dress meshed with red and black alike, sleeves shredded at his upper arms, revealing bare arms covered in black goo like opera gloves of sorts. Across his chest were black leather straps with gold heart buckles. His hips sprouted black and white flowers, drifting into a skirt of torn material and strands of playing cards. The boots had shifted into black armored boots, dripping with the same back stuff on his arms.

Niho's jaw dropped open. "His aura is completely black!"

What Riddle spoke next sent her freezing on the spot, his voice malicious and demented. "Hnhnhn… HAHAHAHAHA! Those foolish enough to disobey me, I have no need of them in my world. I am the law in my world. I am the rules! No other response than "Yes, Queen Riddle" is acceptable! It's off with the heads of any who disobey me! Ahahahahaha!"

Crowley put his hands to his head in despair, wailing, "Ah, look at this mess! A student has gone into overblot right in front of me!"

Grim turned to him, asking, "What the hell is overblot!? That guy's got a wicked air to him now!"

"Overblot is a state that wizards must avoid at all costs. He's being caught up in a storm of negative energy that has made him lose control of his emotions and magic." Crowley answered, confusing them.

"I don't really get it."

"Me, neither."

Cater clenched his hands at their stupidity. "Ah, crap! In plain terms: he's fallen into a dark berserker state!"

"His life is in danger if he keeps using magic like this." Trey grimaced.

"His life!?"

"You mean… he'll die?!" Niho quivered.

"Right now the safety of other students is the top priority." Crowley instructed. "I shall evacuate the other residents. Mr. Rosehearts must be brought back to his senses before he runs out of magic. Losing his life would be terrible, but worse than that…" he didn't finish. "Now I need you all to go get other dorm heads and teachers to assist…"

Niho whispered fiercely to the others to attack Riddle with all they had.

"AH! EAT THIS!" Ace blasted a Wind bolt Riddle's way, taking the others back with his brash move.

"Huh?!"

"COME FORTH, CAULDRON!"

"FFFGNAAA!"

A black cauldron and a stream of fire were thrown in, hitting Riddle with all they had in an explosion. The dust cleared to see that Riddle had taken some damage, clutching his arm and glaring at the first years.

"What are you fools doing?" he growled.

"W-w-whoa, what are you thinking?!" Cater looked at them as if they lost their minds.

Niho turned to look at him, Trey and Crowley. "The teachers will never make it in time if we wait!"

"He's only in danger like this!" Grim agreed.

Deuce raked his hands through his hair. "I won't be able to sleep well with him like this. And…"

"He still hasn't said, "I was wrong. I'm so sorry" yet!" Ace finished.

"We're taking action whether you want us to or not!" Niho glared at Trey in defiance.

Trey could only gape at her, his brain swarming with confusion. "...You all." he wanted to scold them for their irrationality of challenging Riddle, but he sighed, knowing there was no other choice in the making. "...Got it! I can overwrite his magic with my doodle, even if it's not long. Finish this quickly! Headmaster, please work on evacuating the residents."

But Crowley was not one for it. "Hold on just a second all of you! It's too dangerous!"

Cater stood with the headmaster on the debate. "That's right! What's gotten into you, Trey? You know you can't beat Riddle!"

"Only challenging guys you know you can beat, that's too lame!" Ace spat back.

"That isn't cool at all!" Grim griped.

"I can't think of anyone else that can bring him back to his senses quickly." Deuce rebelled.

Trey nodded stiffly. "Yeah, I can't lose him. I...still have so much to tell him."

Niho finished, "There's no going back now!"

Cater could only stare open mouthed at each of them, his eyes on Niho last before he shook his head. "...Ah, shit! Understood. I'm really not cut out for this kind of thing!"

Crowley sighed, "Ugh, fine... As soon as I finish evacuating the other students I'll be back! Hold on until then!" he ran off with the last of the other Heartlabyul students.

"This guy, that guy, you all have some nerve... I'll take all your heads off at one!" Riddle screeched, sending tremors through the ground. Behind him, a large figure wearing something akin to his own uniform hovered behind him. The figure looked reminiscent of the monster from the mines, except it's head was heart shaped and cracked, a few dribbles of ink spilling from the crack. It wore a crown on its head and in its hand, it wielded a rose tree for a sword.

"Riddle's body can't keep this up. We have to stop him before it's too late…" Trey fixed his glasses so that they were not askew. "Doodle Suit!" he commanded, as Niho ran for cover.

The collar snapped around his neck in a flash. "Shit, shit! You're in my way, Trey!"

"Alright! He's sealed Riddle's collar magic with this!" Grim cheered.

"He can't keep it up for long. We're still in a pinch here." Cater grabbed his own pen.

"While I'm sealing "Off With Your Head", hurry!" Trey ordered.

"Uughggiiiiiiiiii!" Wind, Fire, Earth and Water attacks were thrown in large scales toward Riddle. Cater even summoned a few clones to get more firepower on their side, but he found it quick to nearly drain him of his strength. Riddle broke off the collar in a flying rage as the mammoth figure behind him swung the tree in an arch, sending rose thorns their way. Niho screamed as a few nearly pierced her skin had she not ducked behind one of the archways for protection.

"This guy's magic is endless!" Ace shouted.

"Absolutely, definitely I am correct! If not, then what did I endure it all for…" Riddle wailed.

Trey felt a pang of guilt stab him in the chest. "Riddle…"

"Trey, focus!" Cater snapped him back to his senses, helped up by a few clones to his feet. "The moment you don't, we're done for!"

"Ah! Sorry!" He managed to pull himself together.

The attacks kept coming, Niho holding onto the railing for life when from her bag, something began to glow. She scrambled to snatch it out when she saw it was the Ghost Camera. She looked up in time to see Ace deal the final blow. Literally. He threw up his left arm into a swing, sending a hurling bolt of lightning at Riddle, striking him in the stomach and ending him to the ground. Riddle screeched in pain, the incarnation behind him falling behind as well. Riddle smashed into the ground, hitting his head on the dirt, knocking him out. His voice croaked, eyes glazed over and looking up into the sky. "Was… I wrong…? That can't be right… Mo...ther…" his head laid back in the dirt, signaling total knockout.

Niho managed to snap the photo, albeit a bit difficult, going into shock from the events that transpired, when she felt her vision go dark.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Her eyes opened to see that no one else was around her. Everything had disappeared. The gardens, her friends, even Riddle. She was all alone.

But….something had changed.

She was in a dining room. A long oakwood table with four matching chairs stood neatly on either side of one another. Three windows, their shutters open, were on the right side of the table, and a china cabinet stood by the wall next to them. And a gorgeous chandelier hung from the ceiling high up. Yet….Everything was in a shade of black and white…..

"Where am I?" she looked around, confused, until her eyes landed on a small child. He wore a typical schoolboy uniform: white collared shirt, brown shorts with suspenders and simple dress shoes. He sat in one of the chairs, swinging his legs over the edge, a small sad smile on his lips. But out of everything in the room, he was colored. His slated grey eyes looked downcast and the familiar wine red hair and heart ahoge stood prominent on the small boy. She gasped, "Riddle?"

From the kitchen doorway, a woman who looked to be in her late 20s/early 30s came in. She was dressed the same way as Riddle: white blouse, long brown skirt and her hair was pinned up into a high bun, the same polished red as her sons. It was his mother, and she held a cake in her hands. "Happy eighth birthday, Riddle! Your birthday cake this year is a low-sugar, high lecithin cake made with soy flour and nuts." she smiled and placed the cake, candles lit, in front of her son.

Child Riddle smiled shyly, "Thank you, mama." He fiddled with his fingers as he spoke up, "But, um, I... Just once, I really want to try a tart covered in bright red strawberries…"

Niho raised an eyebrow. "I'm in Riddle's past?"

"How could you say such a thing!" Mrs. Rosehearts looked appalled at her own blood's request. "That pastry is a mound of sugar that's more like poison. One slice will exceed your ideal daily intake of carbohydrates. Today we're having a tuna sautee with plenty of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acid. Ah, but at age eight your ideal caloric intake is less than 600 calories per meal so don't eat more than 100 grams. Alright?"

Little Riddle looked away in defeat and begrudgingly nodded. "...Yes, mama."

Although Niho didn't understand a word Riddle's mother said, all she could feel towards the woman was anger. It was her own son's birthday, for cryin' out loud! He should have whatever he wants! And she had the gall to shoot down a simple request?!

Before she could speak her mind, the ghost of present Riddle appeared next to her, not in his insanity. He spoke as if he were narrating a story.

"For so long, a strawberry tart was what I wanted to eat. In the cake shops around town, they're displayed in the window, tarts that look like jewels."

The scene changed into another. This time, several books were lying around the table and Riddle, in the same spot, was dotting down notes in a notebook, his mother standing beside him, a book in her hands.

"Let's end your classical magic studies here for today." She shut the book in her hands. "You have until tomorrow to review the magical ethics that you learned today and get through page 50 of your language philosophy text. To that end, I'll give you an hour to study for your next potions lesson."

"Yes, mother." Little Riddle nodded.

"Your mother has an errand to run so I'll be back in an hour." with that, she took her things and disappeared from the room.

"Geez, how could she push him to do stuff like this?" Niho murmured.

"My every moment was crammed to the brim with every possible discipline." Riddle's ghost spoke. "Time spent learning extended until I could do it. But, for me this was "normal"."

The scene was altered a bit. Child Riddle looked so peppy when he began his work, but as the scene morphed, he looked almost ready to pass out. He held up his head with one hand as he furiously wrote with the other.

Then the sound of knocking on the window snapped him out of it. "...Someone is knocking at the window?" He perked up, sliding off his seat and moving to the window, he opened it to look outside. Niho followed behind carefully, seeing two smaller figures whom she immediately recognized as Trey and Che'nya in their child versions.

"Oh, he came!"

"Hey, hey. Come play with us!"

Riddle looked off put at the newcomers and backed away a bit scared. "Who are you?"

"I'm Che'nya! This is Trey. Let's play croquet." Little Che'nya grinned.

"Huh...I can't." Riddle looked away shyly. "Now is my self-study time. I have to keep studying."

"Huh? Self-study means that mew decide what mew study!" Che'nya rebuffed. "My grand-paw says playing is a kind of study, too." Niho giggled, liking his grandpa immediately.

"Will you come down for a bit?" Trey asked.

Riddle looked conflicted, between completing his studies or making new friends. He smiled and nodded timidly, "...J-Just for a bit."

Trey smiled and asked, "Can I ask your name?"

"R-Riddle… Riddle Rosehearts."

"Playing with Trey and Che'nya was so much fun. I learned new things, played new games. They taught me so much. From that day on, during my self-study time, without telling mother, I left my room."

Now it was outside in the front gardens. The trio of children were sitting in a circle, talking to one another. "Huh?! Riddle, you've never had a strawberry tart?" Che'nya gasped.

"Mother says it's like poison so I can't." Riddle puffed his cheeks and looked away.

"Well, you probably shouldn't eat too much... My family owns a cake shop. Let's go eat some." Trey patted his shoulder with reassurance.

"Huh... but…"

"One piece will be fine." Trey smiled, lifting Riddle's spirits.

"I could go for a whole one right about meow."

It showed the three in a small bakery in a village where they all crowded around a table, three tarts stood before them. Little Riddle took his time savoring the treat he so longed to have as Riddle's ghost smiled at the memory, watching with happiness. "Atop a pure white plate, a brilliantly red strawberry tart. For me, it shined brighter than any jewel. The first bite was wonderfully sweet, it was better than anything I'd ever had. I savored each bite and got lost in it." But then he frowned as the scene morphed back into the Rosehearts household. "Lost track of time….."

"How could you!" Mrs. Rosehearts scowled as her son cowered before her angry aura. "You skipped out on studying to go outside and eat a mound of sugar! Those two instigated it. I won't allow you to spend time with those bad children ever again!"

Riddle, in tears, kept pleading for mercy. "I'm sorry, mother! I won't do it again so forgive me...!"

"Silence! This is because you broke the rules. Ah, I should never have given you so much free time. I have to keep an even better watch over you…" she crossed her arms and kept muttering to herself on keeping a tighter leash on her son.

Niho hated her more than ever. "Trey and Che'nya aren't the ones who are bad, it's you!" she spat at her, not caring if the past ghostly figure couldn't hear her. "You may be a skilled healer, but a pathetic excuse of a mother! It's YOUR doing that Riddle became this way! If only you could see what a monster he became, but you're too blinded by your own arrogance to see how much he's hurting inside!"

The scene melted away, Niho seeing Child Riddle's tears flow as the last thing before darkness engulfed her surroundings. Only Riddle's ghost stayed with her. "If I broke the rules my time for fun was completely taken away. That's why the rules mother makes I have to follow. In this town mother is the most respected that makes her correct." His voice cracked as he felt sadness overwhelm him. "But...tell me, mama. Why? Why does my chest hurt like this? Just on my birthday would be fine, I want to eat a bunch of tarts. I want to play outside for hours. I want to make more and more friends. Tell me, mama, what rules should I follow to make this pain go away?" he turned away to hide his tears as Niho looked at him, feeling sympathy for the guy. She walked up to him and rested both her hands on his shoulders. He gasped, turning around to see her, as if she were the ghost instead of him.

"Your mother was wrong. She doesn't know how to be a good mother. I bet she only sees you as her trophy and nothing more." she shook her head, disgust still held towards his mom. Riddle could only look at her with shock and admiration as she kept speaking. "One broken rule doesn't end the world, and a little bit of strawberry tart wasn't gonna hurt you." she smiled as she recalled something she liked in her world when it came to strawberries. "I like putting strawberries in my lemonade or when I have chocolate sandwich cookies, even with peanut butter, they taste great!"

"You speak as if you have freedom that I never had..."

Niho smiled at Riddle and made him face her. "You can have freedom. But going by absurd rules isn't going to help you in the slightest. There's a line between being rational and irrational. You were leaning more towards the second one. And that's what made everyone turn against you and your tyranny. You need to let go of the uptightness and let loose now and then. Give the reins some slack. Who knows: it may just make a difference." but then she frowned. "You can't let your mother influence your life forever. One of these days, she's going to see that you're not a child, and that you'll have to make decisions for yourself when the time calls for it."

Riddle seemed a bit hesitant on the offer, but nodded nonetheless.

Niho smiled, "We'll do things one step at a time towards the change. And first things first: apologize to everyone you wronged."

The last thing she saw was Riddle sending her a small smile before she was pulled back into reality.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Riddle!"

Niho's eyes fluttered open. She was lying down on her side on the grass, the Camera tucked close to her chest as a means to protect it. She sat up, rubbing the haze out of her eyes, to be met with something drastic in front of her: the entire gardens were ruined from the battle.

Grass and dirt were torn up in spots, the trees ripped from the grounds, partially barren of leaves and roses, their petals fell like blood droplets. Several paint cans were overturned, their contents spilled. And the archway of the maze was completely wrecked. Barely anything looked recognizable in the wreckage.

Niho looked over to see Riddle's prone form on the grass, Trey beside him. Riddle gasped sharply as he woke up.

"Hey, his eyes opened!" Ace and the others rush over when they see their leader awake.

"For real, we were agonizing over whether you'd wake up or not…" Cater sighed.

Riddle took in much needed air as he surveyed what his rage caused. "...What...did I...?"

"I'm so glad. He came back to his senses." Crowley sighed.

"There's no need to think about it now. Just rest." Trey helped him sit up properly.

"Ugh, of course he goes berserk after getting a little mad if you're coddling him all the time! The garden is a disaster and we were in big trouble!" Ace rolled his eyes.

"It was a crazy situation." Deuce breathed.

"Seriously. Bottling up all your stress isn't admirable." Grim added.

Niho approached Riddle and squatted down beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder as well. "...you okay?"

Riddle stared at her with tears welling in his eyes. "...I… really wanted to eat that mont blanc."

Ace perked up at the timid voice. "What?"

Riddle's voice became soft and tearful, blurting out everything that was on his mind. "The roses are fine being white, and the flamingos are fine being pink. I like putting honey in my tea more than sugar cubes and I like milk tea more than lemon tea. I want to chat with everyone while we eat…

"Riddle…?"

"I wanted to spend more time with Trey and everyone else…" he became too choked on his words that he couldn't help but start bawling.

Cater nearly dropped his phone in shock. "I can't believe... that Riddle is sobbing like a baby…"

"Stop that! You're not forgiven just because you're crying!" Ace snapped.

"You really refuse to read the mood…" Deuce glared at him half-heartedly.

Trey hugged Riddle, speaking, "I'm sorry, too. Even though I knew you were suffering I pretended not to notice." He moved away to face Riddle and looked him in the eyes with a resolve. "So I'm going to say it now. Riddle, your way of doing things is wrong. You have to properly apologize to everyone."

Riddle sniffed. Trey helped him to his feet as he stuttered out, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!"

No one said anything for a while. Then Ace stepped forward. "There is something I wanted to say to you if you apologized for everything that's happened…" his face contorted in anger. "WORDS CAN'T FIX THIS MESS! I'M NOT JUST GONNA FORGIVE YOU LIKE THAT!"

"Huh?! You're going to say that right now?!" Cater gaped.

"Ace, will you let it go already?!" Niho screamed at him.

The ginger glared at them both. "Why wouldn't I! We've been put through the wringer. And he still threw away the mont blanc we put all that time and effort into making. I'm not gonna let him off with a tear-filled apology."

"This guy holds a grudge worse than I do." Grim rolled his eyes.

Riddle looked at him tearfully. "Then... what should I…"

Ace's anger calmed down a bit and he said, "...My birthday isn't for a while."

Deuce became confused. "Huh? What are you getting…"

But Ace wasn't finished. "So I demand we have a Revenge Unbirthday Party. We didn't even get to take part in the last one. And this time, you have to make the tart. No getting help from Trey, either! Do it yourself! If you do that, then there's nothing I won't forgive."

"Even though you got help yourself…" Niho spat back, making Ace look at her.

"Shut up, peanut gallery." turning back to Riddle, "You got it?"

"...Yeah, I got it." Riddle nodded solemnly.

Crowley broke the tension with a, "Yes, yes, this is the beauty of compromise. Then the issue is settled."

"Well then, we should probably get started on cleaning up the garden. Our photogenic garden is in ruins... I'm so sad." Cater wailed sadly.

"I'll help you out." Trey offered but Cater shook his head.

"Trey, carry Riddle to the infirmary. ...He did overblot. He should be looked at by the nurse just to be safe."

"Mr. Diamond is right. I shall escort you there."

Trey hesitated but a pained moan from Riddle made him agree. "...Alright. Thank you very much." Hauling up his friend carefully, Trey and Riddle walked slowly to the infirmary, Crowley following right behind them.

Grim felt his stomach rumble. "Ugh, I'm starving from using all that magic... Hm? This is…" he started sniffing the air. He kept following his nose until he came across an eerily familiar black stone. "This is the same as the black magic crystal we found at Dwarfs' Mine!" he picked it up.

Deuce squatted down to see he was right. "You're right! Where did it come from?"

"Don't eat this one." Ace warned.

But Grim's stomach thought ahead of his brain. "I'll never forget that favor! Don't mind if I do!"

"Geez, Grim…" Niho rolled her eyes, watching him swallow it whole.

"He already ate it!" Ace gaped.

Cater joined them with morbid curiosity. "Uh, Grim that's the kind of palette you have?"

"Waaahh~! It starts out with a rich sweetness then finishes with the slightest hint of bitterness for an aromatic experience! This rock has its own unique flavor completely different from the last!" Grim swooned.

"Your stomach can really handle that?" Niho was weirded out a tad.

"He's a monster so his stomach is built differently than ours." Ace shrugged .

"I don't think that makes eating stuff off the ground alright…" Deuce murmured.

"The lawn has a really refreshing flavor too if you give it a try."

Deuce caught the creature trying to nibble at a few weeds in the grass, making him shout, "Stop! That's not for eating!" and ran to apprehend him.

Cater snickered, watching the scene with a small smile as he whispered to himself. "Oh… I can't… ...Thanks, everyone."

"Did you say something?" Ace turned back, but Cater faked ignorance.

"Nothing at all."

While Niho wanted to stay and talk with the others, she knew there was some unfinished business. "Guys, there's something I need to take care of. So I can't help out this time." she apologized, and took off without waiting for their answers.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

She ducked and wove her way through the never-ending halls, potentially asking a few ghosts for help with directions, until she found a door labeled in black lettering on the glass: Infirmary.

She nodded. "This is the place." she knocked a few times and then entered, peeking her head in first. On one of the cot beds laid Riddle, his crown off his head as he laid down, eyes closed. Trey sat close to him in a chair, until the sound of the door opening alerted him. He looked up to see Niho approaching. He put a finger to his lips, telling her to hush. She nodded and kneeled beside him, whispering.

"You two need to come with me." she whispered. Trey raised an eyebrow at her claim, but all she said was: "There's something we need to take care of."

"In a while." Trey assured. "He needs some rest." Niho nodded, deciding patience would be worthwhile.

About an hour or so later, Trey and Niho chit-chatting now and then, mentioning that he and Riddle are from the Rose Kingdom, Riddle woke up.

"Trey….how long was I out for?" he yawned.

"About an hour. Niho decided to visit. He said he needs us for something." Trey answered.

At the new girl's name, Riddle stumbled to sit up in a shock. "N-Niho!"

"Hey." she smiled warmly. "How are you?"

"I-I'm fine…." he mumbled. "But you wanted me for something?"

She nodded. "Now?" another nod.

"Riddle, are you strong enough?" Trey worried.

Riddle nodded and massaged his head. "I'll rest some more when we finish with his task." but at that, Riddle looked at her. "What is it that you need us for exactly?"

"You'll find out soon enough." was all she said.

After getting Riddle back on his feet, the three walk to the Mirror Chamber where the Dark Mirror resided.

"Dark Mirror!" Niho called. "Send us to the Rose Kingdom!"

The Mirror warped and light engulfed the three bodies.

When the portal spat them out, there they were in a village that seemed like out of a fairytale of sorts. And up ahead in the North was a magnificent Castle. But that wasn't Niho's destination. No….it was something much more important to her than that.

She turned to see Riddle and Trey's confused faces. "No time for questions. Just point me to the Rosehearts Residence immediately."

Riddle immediately knew what she was trying to plan and went to shake his head no, but Trey stopped him, despite the uneasy feeling in his gut. "T-This way…" he mumbled and led her down several cobblestone streets, past shops and people and other houses. Niho took it all in as fast as she could, but the reason she needed Trey is for a specific reason: to get back to Night Raven College since she had no magic when all this was over.

Out from the village and into the countryside, they walked on, grass surrounding them with other houses. And very soon, they made it to a quaint house, almost a gingerbread house of sorts. Two storied, wooden roofed, polished glass windows, brick chimney, the works.

"Is this the place?" she asked, feeling her anger towards the monster behind the door surfacing.

Both Trey and Riddle nodded silently. But Trey's was more grim and Riddle's was more scared. Satisfied with the answer, and without waiting for either of them, Niho charged up the doorbell and rang it. After several seconds, someone opened the door.

That someone whose wine red hair has several silvery grayish ones peeking out from her tight bun. Small wrinkles and lines littered parts of her face and her eyes held a somewhat scholarly look to them. She had on her standard white blouse and plain long skirt, this time, a deep black, the tips of her boots peeking out from the hem of the skirt. She looked over to see the two students standing beside one another and made to ask something. But Niho interrupted her.

Niho knew all too well who this was. "I'm sorry for intruding…" she began. "I'm a friend of your son, Riddle. And we need to talk, now."

Mrs. Rosehearts stared down at the girl and her rude interruption with a cold look in her eyes, but complied when she saw her son and Trey behind her, almost several feet away. "Very well. How may I help you?" she asked.

Niho's let her own eyes glare back at the mother, not an ounce of fear in her veins as she ripped at the old woman. "Your son became a tyrant at Night Raven College and went into overblot, and you are the cause! I saw what you did in the past from the ghost camera. And so, I've come to tell you what I think EXACTLY of you." Riddle's mother was about to interrupt, but Niho didn't let her speak as her voice raised, "Enforcing rules can't bring somebody happiness! And I'm not gonna let you hurt Riddle anymore, you hear me?!" she pointed an accusing finger at her with malice. "I'm warning you, you better not mess with him and his friends ever again!"

Riddle's mother became a bit taken back by the outburst when it melted into anger at the girl. "You dare march onto my property and tell me how my son's life should or shouldn't be run?!" She snarled. "How dare you!"

"Having children is a privilege, not a right. And your son is not your trophy!" Niho didn't hesitate to rip her to pieces like the monster she was. Even stepping inside the house and ripping down one of the woven tapestries from the wall like it was a sheet of blank paper. "It doesn't matter that you're Riddle's mother. If you threaten all of us, we will crush you just like any other enemy!"

At this point, Mrs Rosehearts felt fear course inside her veins. She moved her mouth open and closed like a fish out of water. She couldn't think of a comeback to tell the young lady off and put her in her place. Even Riddle and Trey were shell-shocked at Niho's sudden aggressive tone and behaviour change. But Riddle felt somewhere inside his heart, he felt….gratitude. No one ever had the gall to stand up to his mother like that. Not even himself when he was younger. Maybe he really was wrong about Niho. He shouldn't have judged her like that….

"It didn't have to be this way if you just noticed how much Riddle was hurting!" Niho felt the tears from before burning in her eyes, but like before, she forced them back. "Riddle needs to be accepted for who he is, not who his parents are!"

"Riddle, is this true?" his mother looked over Niho's shoulder to stare at her son, quite sternly. Riddle felt his legs tremble beneath him, knowing that no matter how much he wanted to speak up to his mother and say she was wrong, he couldn't find the balls to do so. So, he tugged on Trey's sleeve nervously and whispered something to him. Trey nodded and decided to speak for them both.

"It's true. And before you say anything about wanting to hear this from Riddle, you're hearing this from us both whether you wanted it or not. I know I'm forbidden from coming into contact with your son, but as of now, the rules don't abide to one's sanity at this time and place as of now." Trey scolded. "These past few days had been harsh on not just Niho and I, but Riddle as well. Making him aware of following every rule accountable just makes you seem like a lunatic. We're not enforcing irrational and ridiculous rules just because it's your mindset. And just because it's your way of life doesn't mean it should be Riddle's. From now on, he'll be doing things his own way. And even if you decide to disown him, we'll be there for him to put him back on his feet. And treat him like family, with warmth, compassion and acceptance. Something you obviously never did."

And with that declaration, the three left without another word.

"Riddle! Riddle, get back here and answer me! I will not condone this behaviour!" his mother kept shrieking. But Riddle, Niho and Trey ignored her banshee screams and kept walking along the dirt road back to the portal where they landed in the Rose Kingdom, her voice growing fainter and fainter the further they walked. No one said a word or anything on the way back to Night Raven. But it wasn't until they landed back in the chamber did Trey look at Niho in a long time.

"I'll, uh…." he pondered off nervously. Niho nodded to save him time.

"He needs his rest." she nodded, feeling a great weight off her shoulders. "I should go back and make sure Grim didn't set fire to anything else in the gardens…" she turned to leave the two to their own devices.

"No, wait…" Riddle held up a hand and struggled to stay up as he looked at Niho. She stopped and looked back in confusion. "Before you go…..I have something to say…." Riddle's form began to waver, but he stayed upright for her sake.

"N-Niho….I'm sorry for everything I said to you earlier….. From the moment you came here, I thought you were just a weak magicless being who couldn't do anything for himself. But after what you said to my mother just now...I was wrong about you." he laughed dryly. "I was too blinded by my own arrogance to see what someone like you held underneath….I know it won't be so easy to receive your forgiveness, but…."

"Hey." she interrupted politely. "For now, we'll deal with re-building the bridge later. You need rest after dragging you to your own house and lashing out at your pathetic mom. No offense or anything." she waved away and threw a goodbye over her shoulder, she ran off.

Riddle watched her leave with confusion and admiration in his eyes. "Trey…"

"Yea, me too, Riddle. Me too…" he nodded and took him back to the infirmary, her words echoing on between them like a mantra.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

-Several days later-

The trumpets sounded once more in a grand flare. "Our great leader! The Crimson Ruler! Announcing Dorm Head Riddle!" a student announced.

"Dorm Head Riddle, hip hip hooray!" the dorm cheered.

Riddle's cape swept behind him as he walked out into the now spotless gardens of Heartslabyul after the incident. "Hm. The roses are red, the tablecloths are white. A perfect Unbirthday Party. Inside the teapot, is there a sleeping… ah. Actually, it's fine without." he shook his head.

"You don't have to change everything right away. Instead of putting jam on the mouse's nose, try putting it on a scone. Change "it's worthless without" to "it would be nice to have", right?" Trey stepped up to his side and smiled.

"Yeah, you're right." Riddle nodded after thinking silently.

"Ah. Everything's back to normal…." Niho smiled, smoothing out her party outfit.

"Ugh. In the end, we had to handle getting the garden cleaned up and all the prep work." Ace moaned, massaging his tired hands.

"Calm down. Dorm Head being back after a full recovery is the most important." Deuce chided him.

"The garden is looking super photogenic so I'm super satisfied." Cater winked.

Grim started hopping up and down like a rabbit. "Yeah! I'm ready to eat all this food!"

Niho sighed. "This party will be better than last time...I hope."

"Okay! Let's get to…"

"Just a moment!" Riddle rose a hand over Cater.

Cater turned to look at him. "What?"

"Those white roses…" Riddle's eyes narrowed as he pointed over to a whole treeful of pure white roses straight in front of the group.

"We missed some!?" Ace choked.

"Uh oh... Ace, Deuce, you said you painted them all!" Cater gritted his teeth and spoke tensely.

"This is our fault?!" Deuce glared at him.

"R-Riddle, this…" Trey tried to calm him down before he began to lose his cool, but after a while, Riddle's stern face vanished.

"...Kidding. I'm not going to punish you for one or two roses."

"R-really?! Riddle's so lenient!" Cater sighed happily.

"It'll go faster if we work together."

"You still want them painted!?" Ace gawked.

"Don't worry. But really… yeah." Trey waved it away as he looked to his friend and smiled. "You've changed, Riddle."

Grim scowled. "Grrrgh! I can't wait another second! Let's get this painting stuff over with and party!" And paint them they did. Well, mostly Riddle, who kinda showed off his skills that put the others to shame. Once the white became red, all was set.

Riddle returned to his place at the table. "Then everyone, are you ready?"

"How did your apology tart come along?" Ace pushed the topic forth first.

"I-I baked it, don't worry. This. I made this strawberry tart." Riddle assured and pushed forth a red platter with tarts, one for each of them.

"Hmm… Hmm…" Trey picked one up and inspected it closely. "The shape needs a little work but you did well coating the strawberries in nappage to bring out their shine. This is great work for your first time." he critiqued his work.

"They look pretty adequate." Niho added.

"Ah, there it is, Trey's doubting attitude. Well, let's give it a try." Ace shrugged and picked one up. The others followed, but Cater stopped them before they could eat.

"Ah, I wanna take a pic of this ultra rare tart so hold off on cutting it!" he fumbled with his camera in one hand, holding his tart in the other and snaps a pic faster than lightning. "...Okay!"

"He never changes either... Let's dig in." They all bit into the sweet treats….

….is what should've been what they tasted. But they weren't tasting it. No, what they tasted was something….much different.

"...Hngh!?" Deuce's lips suddenly puckered at the weird taste.

"This tart is…"

"Salty!" the group began to frantically spit out the tainted treats like they tasted vomit mixed with cat piss.

"What!?" Riddle stood there in shock at their negative reactions.

"What the!? It's like eating the ocean!" Ace spit out the chewed up chunk into his hand and threw it away far off into the gardens, turning to glare at Riddle. "What the hell did you put in this!?"

Riddle held up his hands in surrender. "I followed the rules strictly when getting supplies and during the baking. There shouldn't be anything wron-..." his eyes lit up in realization. "Ah! Is it perhaps because I added oyster sauce?"

"You did WHAT?!" Niho looked at him like he lost half his brain.

Deuce pounded his chest, coughing to get the stuck wad of tart down his esophagus. "...Are you referring to Clover's joke about the walrus seal of approval?"

Riddle nodded. "Trey used to say that all good tarts have it even if it's not in the recipe as a secret ingredient…"

"Blegh, there's no way! If you think about it for a moment you'd realize!" Ace frantically wiped his tongue on the edge of the tablecloth since there were no nearby napkins at the moment.

"You fell for it too." Niho smirked at the first year and his idiocy.

"But this goes beyond a secret ingredient. How much did you add?" Cater looked ready to throw up.

"N-No one will divulge their trade secrets, you know? So I couldn't precisely figure out how much to add…" Riddle twiddled his fingers out of nervousness.

Trey could only gawk at his friend's naiveness for believing his joke when he started to snicker and then laugh. "...Pfft, ahaha! I never thought there would be someone who took that joke seriously... Ahahaha!"

It wasn't long before the others began to join in. First Riddle, then Deuce, Niho, Ace, Grim and Cater.

"...Aha, ahaha, so true. I'm so silly… ahahaha!"

"Haha, it's so bad it makes you laugh."

"Guess this one's for the books."

"Ahahaha! We just have to laugh it off. Haha."

"But, now I think it's good in its own way." Grim chewed off another chunk.

"I get you there. It's not as bad as you think." Cater agreed, earning a crazed stare from Deuce.

"Diamond, your palette is just as crazy as Grim's!"

"No no, I wouldn't say that." Cater brushed it off like a fly on his shoulder.

Trey approached him with a knowing smile. "This tart is good because it isn't sweet?"

"Eh?"

"Cater, you hate sweets." This earned stares from the others.

"But didn't you come try the mont blanc?" Niho remembered.

Cater could only stare helplessly at the others and his guilt. "Eh, eh... Trey, how did you know? I've never told anyone about my aversion to sweets."

"Whenever we eat cake you bring up my "Doodle Suit" and change the flavor. You never show it in your face but I just had this feeling you don't like sweets."

"Ah... I've been found out? So embarrassing... Trey, like the stuff with Riddle but your habit of "I noticed but didn't say anything" is not good." the third year sagged his shoulders in surrender, a sad frown on his lips.

"I'll cook up some quiche for the next Unbirthday Party." Trey saved him the embarrassment and patted him on the shoulder.

That seemed to lift his mood a fraction. "I appreciate that. ...Make it just as photogenic as cake, okay."

"Humm hmm hmm. Trey's sweets are always purr-fect." A familiar voice perked up and everyone turned to see Che'nya sitting by one of the tables nibbling one of the sugar cookies with a smile on his face.

"Che'nya! What're you doing here?!" Riddle asked in surprise. What was even more surprising was how none of the other students had noticed him and how he got in!

"Hm? I came to celebrate the Unbirthday Party. Congrats, Riddle." Che'nya sat and sent a smile towards his childhood buddy and then winked at Niho next. "Plus, I came to see the newbie! I heard everything that went down at your house, and how he stood up to your "mom"ster. Got guts, I'll give 'im that!"

Niho was surprised to learn that. "You know?"

"The Unbirthday Party is a Heartslabyul tradition. You don't have anything to do with it." Riddle scolded him.

"Hehehe, neither do these guys, right? Hmhmhm…" Che'nya waggled his finger at the Ramshackle duo.

Grim perked up immediately. "Ah, you! You're the guy from before with the cat puns! Oh yeah, what dorm are you from?"

"Che'nya isn't even a student here to begin with. He's from Night Raven College's long standing rival, Royal Sword Academy." Trey answered.

This raised red flags on Ace and Deuce.

"What!? He goes to a different school!?"

"Freaking Royal Sword Academy!?"

"So there's other schools of magic." Niho let the information sink into her head, just as Ace's little outburst caused a few students to look up at the name.

"Did they just say Royal Sword Academy?"

"One of those stuck-up assholes is here?!"

"What!? Where! We'll toss them out!" It wasn't long before more of them joined the angry mob.

"Oops. Well, I got my tart, so it's time for meow to go home. Hum hmm hmmm." Che'nya teased and faded little by little.

One student saw him vanish and shouted, "Ah, he got away!"

"After him!" They clambored from their seats at the tables and ran into the gardens and around the dorm to search for the neko like it was a wild goose chase. It wasn't long until the tea area was clear of the other dormers.

"Whoa! They got murderous..." Grim curled his tail inwards at their hostile and aggressive auras.

"Students from Night Raven College have a high probability to turn hostile towards Royal Sword Academy." Riddle explained, arms crossed over his chest.

"After losing for 100 years, you can't blame them." Trey shrugged helplessly.

"No more gloomy talk! We're celebrating! Let's enjoy our Unbirthday Party today!" Cater slugged his arms over the two with a smile on his lips.

"Nyaha! I'm gonna eat until I burst! Happy Unbirthday Party!" Grim cheered, but Niho stopped them.

"Wait!" she called out and cleared her throat after six sets of eyes were on her. "Since the other students aren't here, I should tell you guys something, but Cater needs to leave, too. He hasn't really earned my trust yet.'' She sent a small glare at the third year, who relented, hands up in surrender and walked off, far, far off so that he couldn't eavesdrop on their conversation.

When he was a good distance away, she began. "I haven't been very truthful from the start either. I've been hiding something from you two….er, three, but for now, two since we first met." she looked at Riddle and Trey with a bit of fear. But Ace and Deuce knew what she was going to tell them and moved to either side of her and placed their hands on her shoulders for reassurance, with silent and encouraging smiles, That seemed to have lifted her spirits and she continued, "I'm not who you think I am…..and the truth is…..I'm really a girl."

"Oh I see….wait, what?!" At that claim, Riddle felt himself go red all over. But not from anger. Rather, embarrassment. Before he could let anyone make fun of him he threw the cape over his head and crouched down into a ball. Knowing the new student was actually a girl made him want to crawl into the bushes and rethink how he treated her these past several days. THOROUGHLY.

Trey laughed awkwardly at his friend's silence, "Uh…..you might've broken Riddle there, Niho…" he placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "But….we understand why you would want this to be kept under wraps. It may be alot for us to process, but we'll be okay." he nodded reassuringly. "Don't worry. Our lips are sealed. We won't let the secret get out to anyone. Not even Cater, until the right time." With a tip from his hat, Trey led Riddle away to let him rethink his choices on the matter, the redhead not even bothering to chide the first year boys for dying of laughter at his flushed out face.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Over at Savanaclaw, in a messy bedroom, two figures were doing different things. The first, Ruggie, was leaning on his elbows against the stone balcony's railing, overlooking the party that was going on next door. He sighed longingly, "I'm jealous. Those Heartslabyul guys are having a party with a huge feast. Savanaclaw doesn't have any stomach bursting traditions."

"Hmph... What's so fun about a party where all you do is eat cake and cookies under the afternoon sun? Disgusting." the second, Leona, laid out on his bed, arms up and behind his head, feet crossed at the ankles and his eyes shut. But they opened soon after and he side-eyed the second year. "That aside, how is that coming…?"

Ruggie caught on fast and leaned upright with a smirk and mock-saluted. "Leave it to me. Things are coming along smoothly. Shishishi!"

Leona nodded and stared at his hand, speaking quietly, "While those guys waste their time away drinking tea, we have our change. That stuck up Malleus, too." his eyes darkened as he clenched his hand into a tight fist as a dark chuckle left his lips. "Be prepared…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

NEXT TIME...

"What I hate most in this world is when people have already decided you'll never be number one. I know life isn't fair, but isn't it obvious that doing underhanded things is my real power?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to win. A world that I can't rule over… it will all TURN TO SAND!"


	9. Dangerous Accumulation!

**I** **thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me. Sorry for the wait. Been waiting for YouTube videos and hoping to start a fanfic of Inuyasha.**

* * *

"I can hear the wind….."

Niho felt like she was floating on air in her dream as the atmosphere became filled with light. On top of a majestic rock stood two lions and a mandrill. The mandrill, holding a shaman's staff, had blessed the lions' newborn cub on the day of his birth. Holding the child close, the mandrill scuffed to the edge of the rock, where below on the ground stood many savannah land animals ranging from gazelle to meerkats to zebras and more as they awaited in anticipation. The mandrill took the newborn with both hands and lifted him high into the air as the animals cheered with excitement; the sunrays breaking through the clouds to shine down on the prince of Pride Rock.

As the scene faded, the sound of a lion's roar echoed through the space. She strained to hear it correctly, but then intended up turning into a meow.

She woke up in confusion, only to see it was Grim who was making the noise.

"What was with that roar?" she mumbled.

"Nyah… How's that… Do you understand the power of the great Grim…" he smiled stupidly as he dreamt, no doubt.

"T-that's some sleep talking." she shook her head and silently crept out of bed to stretch her limbs for the day.

"I showed that tyrant, Riddle, who's boss… What?" Grim woke up with a start and looked around in confusion. "The Ramshackle Dorm? It was only a dream... I thought I'd knock that Riddle out and become the strongest wizard ever. So disappointed." Grim frowned.

"We've really been through a lot." she shrugged in sympathy and ripped open the curtains, admiring the sunrise and feeling the light shine down on her like a spotlight. If only she could stay here and enjoy it forever….

"Okay! Time to get going... Another day closer to becoming a great wizard! Y'know!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The group made it to the cafeteria once classes were let out for the day.

"Ugh... Mr. Trein has been using some sort of spell to put me to sleep. No matter how hard I resist I lose to drowsiness!"

Deuce looked at Grim unimpressed, "You fell asleep five minutes in. That's not resisting at all."

"Lunch time, what should I have today…? ...Hmm? The cafeteria is extra crowded today." Ace puckered his lips as he observed the line.

"Must be something good if it's that crowded." Niho nodded as one of the cafeteria ghost's materialized.

"Today is a special day that happens once a month! A super popular bakery in town is here to promote at school! It sells out fast, so early bird gets the worm!"

At the front of the line, several students began to file out order requests. "Three chocolate croissants for me!"

"I actually got something this month! This egg salad sandwich is the best!"

"The egg salad sandwich is already sold out! There's only one deluxe ground meat sandwich left!"

Ace smiled, overlooking the display with ravenous glee. "Everything looks really tasty. I might have to go get something."

"It looks popular. Niho, Grim, what do you wanna… Huh?"

Niho and Deuce look around only to find: "Grim's gone!"

"Outta my way! All of you! That deluxe ground meat sandwich is mine!" And speak of the little fire devil, he was scampering right towards the front, cutting the line set out, ignoring the other students and his group like flies on cow dung.

And already, two students were not having it today. "Hey jerk, no cutting in line!"

"You've got some nerve cutting in front of your seniors, freshman! Get outta here!"

"He loses himself to food way too easily!" Deuce shook his head in disappointment.

"Ugh..." Ace agreed with him.

But Niho was fast on her feet. "Let's stop him!" and dragged the others with her to catch the fire creature.

"Do you get how strong I am now! This last deluxe ground meat sandwich is all mine! Nya ha ha! I'll also be taking yakisoba bread and cream filled bread!" Grim stuck his tongue out teasingly.

Deuce chided, "Grim, knock it off already! I'm sorry everyone!" he turned to the annoyed students that were the first in line.

"And, uh, I'll have a roast beef and lettuce panini!" Ace called out.

"You don't get to just cut in line either!" Deuce punched him in the shoulder as a sign to knock it off.

"Melon bread, please." Niho spoke up and Deuce sent her a glare, but she shoved his shoulder in return. "Hey, you gotta take a chance, otherwise you get nothing but scraps and crumbs."

From the entrance in the cafeteria, Ruggie panted as he stopped to catch some air and analyze the area. "Ah, crap. I completely missed the lunch time free-for-all." he grumbled, seeing the display empty. "The deluxe ground meat sandwich Leona wanted is already sold out." However, his ears quickly picked up nearby gloating from a glee-filled creature, prancing around the mentioned sandwich he was tasked with getting.

"Nya ha ha! The taste of victory. I'll take my time savoring it!"

Ruggie was already concocting a plan in mind as he approached the first years with a fake grin. "Oh. Hey you. That's pretty great. You got your hands on a deluxe ground meat sandwich, huh."

Grim gave him a questioning look, "Huh? What's it to you?"

"I have to get that sandwich no matter what, but they sold out right in front of me. So I have a proposition. Could you trade that deluxe ground meat sandwich for my mini bean paste bread?" the hyena offered, slipping out a bun the size of a baseball, golden and flaky looking that he snagged from a nearby table while no one was looking.

"Huh?! No way in hell!" The tanuki was fast to defend what was his with a scowl. Ruggie smirked mentally, noting how cute he looked when he pouted. But he was needed somewhere ASAP with the food. And he knew just what to do.

"Now now, don't say that. ...Here you are." He swiftly held out his hands with the bean paste bread to Grim. And all of a sudden, Grim began to mirror the exact same thing!

"Ffna!? What's going on?! My arms and legs are moving on their own…" Grim's voice shook as he walked like a zombie toward the hyena, arms outstretched with his proclaimed meal.

"Grim, who normally only has space in his head for food, is trading a mini for a deluxe!?" Niho stared weirdly at them as she watched the exchange go down. As soon as the food was in one another's hands,

"Negotiations complete. Shi shi shi. Thanks for being kind enough to trade me! That mini bean paste bread is just as good. It being tiny is a defect. Thanks and bye-bye!" Ruggie lazily saluted and scampered off as Grim whined,

"F-f-ffgnaaaaa! My deluxe ground meat sandwich!" And he never stopped complaining about losing his mentioned food as well.

"Aww, Today is the worst day ever. This bread is hard to swallow…" he tried to gnaw on the bean bread he was "traded" with.

"He says after vacuuming up three of them." Ace muttered.

"Always the glutton." Niho agreed with a nudge.

Deuce sighed, "Then what was that earlier? If you're going to complain this much, you shouldn't have traded in the first place."

"That's not it!" Grim shook his head wildly. "When that guy stuck his arms out, my body moved in the same way on its own... The trade was over before I knew it."

"Oh I see, you just kinda went along with it. That happens sometimes." Ace nodded, biting into his food again.

"That's not right either... Grrrr, I can't explain it well! I'm confused so I'm just gonna eat to feel better!" Grim griped and whipped his gaze to Deuce. "Deuce, gimme some of your pasta!" He dove for the plate, only to get caught mid-air by the bluenette and thrown to the other end of the table.

"I'm not part of this! Knock it off!" Deuce snapped.

"By the way, the headmaster said he has something to talk about so to come to his office after class today. I wonder what it is?" Ace notified.

Deuce looked up in confusion. "Isn't it probably about the stuff that happened with Dorm Head Rosehearts the other day?"

The ginger looked back. "The 'evil berserker mode' incident? Probably."

"Hah... We might get a whole pile of canned tuna for how hard we worked!" Grim seemed to lighten up at the idea immediately.

"No canned tuna please." Ace gagged. But Niho was in her own headspace as she took in the features of the hyena-hybrid from earlier.

"That reminds me, where have I seen that guy before…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

-in the Gardens, Temperate Zone-

Ruggie scurried through the maze of vegetation until he came upon a familiar lazy figure. "Leona, I'm back with lunch." he called out.

The Lion Hybrid opened one eye, which darted to the window to see the sun was leaning toward the east. "Grrr… Huh, already afternoon?"

"Were you by chance sleeping here all morning? You're gonna fail another class." Ruggie pouted, a tad worried for his senior's lack of keeping up with his academics.

Leona merely disregarded his words as he sniffed the wafting smells from the small plastic bag. "Oh, smells like you got what I ordered." he smirked and, now fully awake, sat up to claim his prize.

"Ugh. Leona, you always want the stuff that's the most competitive. Here's your order of one deluxe ground meat sandwich and iced tea." Ruggie handed him the order and plopped down beside him with his own ration.

"Stupid. The more difficult it is to get, the more you wanna eat it." he grumbled as he unwrapped the sandwich, ripping a huge chunk out of it.

"I'll eat anything as long as it isn't moldy. I'm sure Prince Leona wouldn't know anything about that." Ruggie sniggered. But something in the sentence made Leona go on edge a bit.

"Hmph. I'm not the crown prince, I'm the second. I couldn't be king even if I wanted to. I'm not different from the masses." After he finished talking, he stuffed more of the sandwich into his mouth to quell the hunger inside him.

"I'll never forget when I showed you a picture of my home and you said, "I thought it was a dog house"." Ruggie recalled.

Leona looked at him in confusion, not remembering that moment all too well. "I said that?"

"Ya sure did. Ugh. I'd love to live in a castle so big it makes my home look like a dog house." The hyena sighed.

Leona chugged down some of the tea before speaking up, "Hah. Being royalty isn't that great. Your effort or skills make no difference, everything is decided by what order you were born in." he sounded almost like he had enough BS to handle already.

"Hmph... Is that so? Oh, yeah. After school today is the dorm head meeting about the Magical Shift tournament. Please, don't miss it." Ruggie reminded him.

"...Tsk, pain in the ass…" Leona clicked his tongue irritated, but Ruggie reminded him,

"As the dorm head, you get the biggest single room. So work to earn that place."

"Ah, fine, fine." he waved it away, the threatening notion of getting his sleeping right revoked bouncing around in his head. Once the last few morsels had vanished, he yawned, "I'm stuffed to the brim and sleepy. Wake me up after lunch." he curled onto his side, back facing Ruggie.

"I'm not your alarm clock Leona-Huh, he's already asleep! Ugh, I can't…" Ruggie rolled his eyes at Leona's tenacity to doze off when he wished and decided to pass the time with any loose leaf homework on him. But as he clicked his pen to start writing, something came up in his head, "Now that I think about it, where have I seen those first years and that raccoon before?" he mumbled to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Deuce knocked on the Headmaster's door and poked his head in. "Headmaster, pardon the intrusion."

"Pardon us." Ace followed, opening the door for Niho and Grim to follow through.

Crowley looks up from his paperwork. "You're all here, I see. Let's get right to the matter at hand…" he stood from his seat and approached the group. "Now that things have calmed down after the Heartslabyul incident the other day, there is a matter I must discuss with you… You all need to know about the berserk state Mr. Rosehearts fell into if you are to become wizards."

"It was... Overblot?"

Crowley nodded at Deuce's answer. "Yes, that's correct."

"What even IS Overblot?" Niho asked. "Just the name alone sounds malicious…"

"I've heard about it from my bro before, but seeing someone build up enough blot to become that was something else. He really went full 'evil berserker mode'." Ace tried to remember.

"Hey, what is 'blot' anyway?" Grim rose a paw.

"Oh, that's right. You two need that explained as well." Crowley looked over Grim and Niho. "I shall fill you all in. For I am gracious. Ahem. Blot is a type of waste created after one uses magic. In the same way a vehicle creates exhaust as it burns fuel to run. Spells burn magic to manifest, and create blot at the same time... That should be easy enough to understand."

"So blot is the exhaust of magic?" Niho put it simple and to the point.

"That is correct. Blot has been researched since the dawn of recorded history, but there are still many mysteries to unravel. One thing that is known for sure is that blot is a toxin and building up too much can cause great harm to the mind and body."

"Oh yeah, my grandma used to always say, 'You'll build up blot so don't use magic willy nilly'. She went on and on about it." Ace mocked, earning a glare from Niho in return.

"And she was right. Do you really want to end up like Riddle did?" she fired at him, making Ace sour.

"No….."

"With great power comes great risk. No matter how great the wizard, they cannot indefinitely use magic." Crowley said.

"So you're saying the more we use magic the unhealthier it becomes?!" Grim started to shake.

Crowley shook his head, "No, that's not exactly right. Hmm. It might be faster to just show you rather than just explain. My dear ghosts, it's time for work!" he clapped his hands as two ghosts materialized before the group.

"You called, Headmaster?" one asked politely.

"Eh? W-What now?" Ace backed up, caught off by their appearance.

"First, please lend a hand in helping temper these young ones." Crowley instructed.

"Eeeh?" Deuce could only utter.

"Here we go. Let's go a round." the second ghost taunted playfully.

Crowley ushered Niho to the sidelines. "Ready your magical pens everyone. Your special lesson with the headmaster isn't over yet."

The three kept throwing attack after attack at the ghosts, who merely vanished or dodged their attacks with little ease. Before long, the trio were starting to tucker out from the fight.

Grim got fed up pretty fast, "Oi, Headmaster! Talking about blot and fighting ghosts have nothing to do with each other!"

"Grim, take a good look at the magical crystal around your neck." Crowley beckoned. The fire creature did as he was instructed and looked down at the pendant on his neck. He spotted small black blotches concealing most of the purple crystal.

Naturally, he began to freak out. "Ffgna!? There are some weird blotches on my crystal!? I can't wipe them off with my paw!" he looked down helplessly.

"There should be black smudges that look like drops of ink on the crystal. Those are the blots created from using magic." Crowley explained.

Deuce squinted as he raised the pen close to his eye. "If I look close, there's small smudges on my magical pen as well...!"

"Blegh, it's so dirty!" Grim gagged.

"Will it go back to normal?" Niho asked.

"Why yes." and that answer made Grim calm down in a snap.

"I'm relieved! Phew."

"With enough rest, the blots will vanish in a matter of time. Magic crystals don't only help with performing spells, but they also prevent blots from accumulating directly within the caster. They are truly a wonderful item that can shoulder your burdens."

"I see. So you mean that if our crystals start to darken, we need to properly rest." Deuce began to understand.

"That's right. Eat well, sleep well, and normal blots will disappear on their own."

Niho didn't seem like she had believed the Headmaster's words. "Not as easy as it seems…." she muttered to herself.

"How 'bout that! Then when I become the greatest wizard ever, I can fire off spells like "bang! bang!" with no problem! I always eat my fill and sleep like a rock." Grim was off in his own la-la-land.

"The amount of mana a person has varies from person to person, but aside from very special cases, the difference doesn't really affect the maximum blot a person can tolerate." Crowley pointed out the flaw, making Grim stop mid-step.

"What does that mean?"

"I think I know what he's saying." Niho shushed him, remembering the ink dripping off Riddle's body as he transformed. "What happened with Riddle...after he transformed, it looked like his arms were also dipped in that inky liquid too! It even floated off him!"

"That means, people like Mr. Rosehearts, who have a lot of mana, have to be exceedingly careful about how much blot they are accumulating." Crowley nodded.

"If you aren't paying attention and just keep using a bunch of magic without paying attention, you're gonna get covered in blot." Ace summarized to himself.

"Well, with the amount of mana all of you possess, I don't think there's any danger of that. Isn't that great!"

"That line of yours doesn't bring me joy! Like, at all!" Ace soured.

Grim, having absorbed Niho and Crowley's words felt a shiver go down his back. "If you use too much magic and your crystal becomes completely black, you'll go into "evil berserker mode" like Riddle? That huge evil spirit thing was super scary."

"The amount of blot a person accumulates if greatly influenced by their mental state. Anger, sorrow, fear, confusion... Being swathed in negative energy makes blot all the easier to build up and Overblot occurs much more easily as well."

"Negative energy…" Deuce murmured.

"That and too much magic….Those two things are a recipe for disaster." Niho shook her head.

"The giant shadow that appeared behind Mr. Rosehearts when he was rampaging. They say that appears as the incarnation of negative energy fused with blot, however... The details aren't understood at this time. There is still so much we don't know about Overblot. Due in part to there being very few cases of it happening." Crowley answered, sensing Niho's confusion.

"Who would want more cases of that?! I certainly don't." Ace held up his hands in mock surrender.

Crowley frowned, "It is truly fortunate that Mr. Rosehearts was brought back to his senses, if he hadn't… AHHHH! I DON'T WANT TO EVEN IMAGINE! IT'S TOO AWFUL!"

"Waahah! Don't yell like that, you scared the crap outta me!" Grim had ducked behind Niho's leg as protection.

"Ahem. Apologies, I lost myself there for a moment." the principal recomposed himself. "This became long winded, but I hope you understand that using magic comes with certain dangers. You'd do well to never forget that."

"Yes." the troupe answered.

"That brings your special lesson with your gracious headmaster to a close! Please return to your classroom." But before anyone could move, Niho stepped up, inquiring,

"By the way, about a way to get me home…?"

"Ah, aaaahhh. A way to send you back to your world. Of course, I'm looking for one. I haven't forgotten or anything. But I've been so busy lately." Crowley spun, but Grim looked less than pleased.

"Your eyes are all over the place." the cat pointed out.

Crowley stuttered out, "I-I'm not lying. Getting ready for the Inter-Dorm Magical Shift Tournament in October has had me swamped. There's a meeting with all the dorm heads after this too…"

This made Grim and Niho raise their eyebrows. "Magical Shift Tournament?"

"What, Niho, you don't know Magift?" Ace looked at her.

"It's famous around the world. There's a pro league and a world cup, too." Deuce points out

Grim waved his paws up high like he was invisible. "I don't know, either!"

Ace began to explain it. "Magical Shift... or Magift for short is a sport played by two teams of seven. Put simply, there's a disk that you have to throw through the other team's goal to score points. The team with the most points wins."

"Sounds like American football." the girl shrugged, earning a confused look from the boys.

"American football? Is that a sport from your home?"

"Yeah, everyone comes to see it. In fact, teenage boys would kill to play football." she chuckled dryly.

This raised interest in the Headmaster, "Hmm. It's not something I've heard before. I'll look it up next time I'm in the library. It might even turn into a lead…"

"But it might be hard for you to take part in a game of Magift, Niho." Ace reiterated.

Grim perked up, "Why's that?"

"Magical Shift is a sport that uses magic. The disk is carried with magic, defense and offense also use magic." Deuce answered.

Ace added, "How big a spectacle you can make with magic is also part of being a great player."

"Yes! That's why Night Raven College is known as a champion around the world! Countless alumni have gone on to be pro players! Magift is just an athletic sport but one that uses magic to compete as well. Our school's Inter-Dorm Magical Shift Tournament is attended by representatives of pro leagues and those from different magical industries around the world. The arena will be lined with food stalls and visitors from different countries will grace the stadium. It is a tournament that'll make your palms sweat and works the whole world into a frenzy thanks to the live broadcast TV cameras."

Niho's jaw dropped in shock, "TV cameras!?"

Grim smiled in glee. "Worldwide broadcast?! So if I play in that tournament the whole world will be paying attention to me?!"

"Certainly! Those who play in the tournament will without a doubt become popular with pro leagues and any number of sponsors." Crowley's voice rose higher in happiness as he spoke.

"In your case Grim, I think they'd be more surprised by seeing a monster play." Deuce chuckled.

Grim jumped up and down, ecstatic, "Oh yeah! I'll start some special training today and stand out to everyone in that stadium!"

"Oh but Grim, you can't play at all." Crowley interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Haven't I said "Inter-Dorm" several times already? Your dorm doesn't meet the seven person requirement does it? So you can't even apply." Crowley states bluntly.

"Eh!? How can that be!"

The headmaster added in with a grin, "Selling drinks in the stands the day of, preparing the field for the tournament, there are many things that have to be done. Standing on the field as a player isn't the only role."

But Grim, being the stubborn one, didn't budge. "No way! No way! I wanna hear 'Kyaa! Grim is so cool!' 'Hey, did you see his super play?!' from the crowd as they all cheer for me!"

"That's a pretty basic delusion…" Ace rolled his eyes.

"Hmm. Can't be helped since you don't have enough people." Deuce apologized. "You might have to give up on this year and hope that some freshmen get sorted into Ramshackle Dorm next year." he smiled encouragingly.

"I really must get back to work! Ah, busy, busy, busy." Crowley muttered to himself as he turned back to his desk.

Grim whined, "You got my hopes up for nothing, you jerk... Ffnaa..."

"Hold on a minute." Niho stopped him. The Headmaster turned back to see her. "What about getting new students for the Ramshackle dorm?" was the main thing that slipped out her mouth, growing a bit peeved. "If you won't do anything right away, I'll just have to do it myself." She turned on her heel and started for the door. "I'm going to go talk to the Dark Mirror and ask if-" but something stopped her.

"Hold on, my dear!" Crowley stopped her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I can assure you: there will be more new people to join your dorm!"

"I'm a bit skeptical about that, Sir..." Niho replied.

"Just give it some time! You may never know who may just appear out of nowhere!" he laughed to himself.

Niho felt herself getting an aneurysm at his happy-go-lucky smile. "You don't understand what I'm saying. TIME IS NOT ON MY SIDE!" she snapped, making Crowley put his hands up in mock-surrender at her loudness.

"As we stand here, someone else could show early signs of overblot and we wouldn't even know about it until it's too late.'' That was the last thing she said before she turned heel once again and strode out of the room, hands clenched at her sides and a scowl crossed on her lips.

Worried, Crowley scurried after her, tripping over his own two feet after her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Niho pushed open the door of the Mirror Chamber and walked right toward the ornate mirror, looking at it right in the glass. She stood in front of it and demanded: "Dark Mirror: we need to talk!"

The face in the Dark Mirror materialized. "What is it you wish to know?"

"Can you detect those with Beast Tamer talents so that they may enter the school?" she asked.

"The answer you seek believes to lie in me. But it is a human's destiny to ponder the riddle of existence, and as a byproduct of wonderment, to create a new coven on this place... six...or seven souls...they've yet to appear before thee..."

Niho's eyebrows perked up. 'Okay, now we're getting somewhere!' she thought. "Try one hometown!...Headmaster, do you know where the students come from?"

"Yes of course! I've profiles on all the students and their places of origin!"

"Tell me where Leona Kingscholar's from. We can start there!"

"If I remember...it's the Afterglow Savannah..." The mirror heard this and silently searched.

"...one female. A girl of the same birthplace..." was all it answered.

"Bring her in."

From the Mirror's surface, the glass warped and slowly began to spit out a young girl, around Niho's age. Her skin was dark, but her hair a different contrast: a polished chestnut with several dark highlights. She wore a beige halter top with dark green cargo pants and leather sandals. But the elephant in the room: a pair of lion ears and a tail protruding from her lower back and head.

She opened her eyes to reveal gleaming brown irises reminiscent of a chocolate bar. "Where...Where am I?" she asked, her eyes moving around the room in curiosity.

"You're at Night Raven College." Niho answered, walking up to her calmly, to show she was not an enemy. "We asked the Dark Mirror to bring you here because I've firm belief there are more people like me out there: beast tamers, as they're called. I'm Niho Shimoba. And you?"

"Rajni...Rajni Jeevan." the newcomer answered carefully. "W-Wait...isn't Night Raven...an all boy's school? Why was I brought here?!"

"Miss Shimoba said she wanted to recruit more people like you to this academy, Miss Jeevan." Crowley spoke. "She believes there are more people with the talent to tame monsters in this world than just herself. Oh, yes! I am Dire Crowley, the principal of this establishment." he bowed.

"So...any idea?"

"Uh, what do you mean 'any idea'...?" Rajni asked confused. "I still don't understand: why was I even brought here in the first place? And HOW is an even bigger question?!"

"We have asked the Dark Mirror to find one in a certain Region of Twisted Wonderland." Crowley pointed her to the Mirror. Rajni looked over her shoulder to look at the face inside the glass, looking back at her. "We believe that you may possess the same or similar abilities to that of Miss Shimoba here."

"Do you have any strong abilities?" Niho asked. "Can you communicate well with monsters of all kinds?"

"I guess you can say that...I have some good commander skills and I'm a capable combatant..." Rajni shrugged, her left hand clung to her right elbow as she unconsciously moved it to her, catching Niho's attention.

"Uh, are you hiding something...?"

"No! I mean...no, i-it's nothing..." Rajni tried to cover herself.

Niho narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't born yesterday. You're hiding something. Let me see!"

Rajni backed up a bit at her harsh tone, but reluctantly complied. She raised her right arm up slowly and out.

Niho's eyes widened. On Rajni's lower right arm was a long and faint scar, running vertically up said arm, from a few inches below her wrist to almost at the crack of her elbow...it was faintly pink but still had a bit of red at the sides. "Oh my god...how'd you get that?"

Rajni ran her fingers lightly over the scar with her fingertips, a glossy look in her eyes. "I'm not sure myself...it just...appeared one day..."

"Is that even...possible?" Niho murmured, looking at Rajni with skepticism and sadness.

"...For me, it may as well be." The lioness remarked humorlessly.

"Anyways, it is with great honor that I humbly welcome you to Night Raven College, Miss Rajni Jeevan!" Crowley perked up. "I shall let you settle in with your things at the Ramshackle Dorm. When you are accommodated, we shall get you fit for a new uniform! I will see you in my office soon!" He waved and left in a hurry, leaving the two girls alone.

"So...wanna check out the dorm?" Niho offered.

"By all means." Rajni nodded, and picked up her duffel bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "Lead the way."


End file.
